TWENTY-FIVE

Saturday, 16 April 2005

The ceremony for Ginny had been the most gut wrenching thing Draco had ever witnessed. There had been so much loss over the years, even when he was on the wrong side of the war, but nothing stung quite like this. Ginny had been Fiendfyre in the midst of chaos; ready to burn the world down around her. She was up for any mission he gave her and headstrong when he tried to keep her from other ones. If he was the leader of the Resistance, she was the heart of it.

But as he had told Theo, he refused to contemplate his grief. Not yet. So he had pulled himself away from a rather large gathering to meet with the representative for MACUSA. That interaction alone had been brief. He was commended for weakening the regime with the demise of the lab and given a missive with details on another attack. It seemed that other countries around the world were no longer caving to Riddle's threats. They were now banding together to take him down by any means necessary.

Not wanting to correct the witch that he couldn't take credit for the lab, he took the missive and promised to be in touch. He had gone straight to Devon and summoned Theo and Neville. It was risky, involving the latter, but since Blaise was out of reach for the time being, he had no other choice. As it turned out, Ginny's death had sobered Neville a bit. The fact that someone so close to him; someone as strong as she was could be taken down at a moment's notice made him more compliant.

Since MACUSA wanted to act fast, they had to as well. Even with their numbers hurting from the failed attempt on the lab and moral low because of it, they had to press on. With the lab gone, Riddle was weakened significantly. If they wanted to keep him weak, they had to strike before he could rebuild. It was late when they left the safe house in Devon that night. By then, they had sent a plan off to the MACUSA representative and split off to their own safe houses.

Luna was meditating in the living room and the sight was so strangely out of place that Draco wondered if being subjected to the Cruciatus hadn't addled his brain this time. Without even looking at him, she had informed him that Hermione had woken up a few hours ago. That she had helped her bathe and Hermione had even eaten a bit. Even after being told she had recently gone back to sleep, Draco still stole into her room to check on her for himself.

He didn't stay for long; just enough to reassure himself that this was real. Even if he knew it couldn't last.

After taking his leave of her room, he crossed the hall to his own. He stripped away his clothes and stepped under the spray of the shower. He had intentionally turned the temperature to hotter than he could stand and welcomed the way it seared his skin. He flattened his palms along the wall to brace himself and hung his head forward, watching as the water as it circled the drain.

The more he tried to keep his mind blank, the harder the emotions pushed forward. The more he tried to shove the recent events into a book to add to his mental library, the more the pages tore free of the binding. With a cry of anguish slipping past his lips, Draco felt his body crumble. He hissed as he landed on his knees, but it was nothing compared to the grief that tried to drown him. Tears mixed with the water as it ran down his face. He sat back against the wall of the shower and raked a hand through his hair, tugging hard as he sobbed beneath the water.

Ginny had been a distraction; something to sate his needs when the buildup had caused him to lose control. He knew she was using him too; that he was just a replacement for Potter since he was gone. He hadn't known he had cared for her as much as he had. Guilt stole the air from his lungs as he thought of all the times they had been together and how not once had he ever thought of her. He had always pretended she was Hermione. Ginny had always known; had told him she pretended he was Potter at the same time.

At the thought of Hermione, his heart began to ache in another way. Ever since they had found her in the rubble next to Ginny, he knew what had to be done. That especially now, more than ever, Riddle needed a distraction. If she was here, he would raze the city to the ground looking for her. So long as she was breaking her promise to Riddle by being here with him, they stood no chance at truly taking him down.

Pulling himself together, he shut off the water and used his new Grey magic to dry himself off. He didn't even bother putting any clothing on as he strode out of his room and across the hall to Hermione's. He shut the door softly behind him and slid into the bed beside her. He gathered her into his arms and held as tight as he dared. Just the feel of her pressed against him; flesh to flesh was enough to soothe the ache inside of his soul.

Slowly, he adjusted them so she was on her back and he was hovering over her from his position at her side. He reached up with one hand and brushed the hair from her face. He cupped her jaw and lowered his lips down to hers. She sighed against his lips as she stirred beneath him. He closed his eyes as she stared to kiss him back, but as her lips parted, he realized it was to gasp in surprise instead of deepen the kiss.

He pulled back and stared down at her, watching as she stared up at him with a myriad of emotions in her eyes. It took him a moment to realize what she might have thought as the fear dissipated into recognition; at the way her body relaxed even though he hadn't realized it had tensed in the first place.

She thought he was Riddle.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she reached up to cup his face in turn. He shivered at her touch as he continued to hold her gaze. "I didn't want to do it," she whispered, her voice shaking.

"Blow up the lab?" he questioned.

She shook her head and a sob escaped her lips. "Ginny…"

He went still for a moment before he realized what she was getting at. He didn't know how to react other than to remain still as he felt a warmth inside his mind, tugging him forward. The transition from the real world to being inside of her mind was so seamless he almost didn't realize what she had done until he caught sight of Ginny; alive once more.

He watched the scene unfold; heard the exchange between the pair. His own breath caught as Ginny begged for death. As she stated clearly that she would rather die than be subjected to Riddle's control ever again. His stomach rolled as the women embraced; as he saw Hermione tap into her magic to do to Ginny what Draco had seen her do to Kerus in older memories.

Whether she was too weak or his rage was too strong, he didn't let her push him out as Riddle entered the scene. Instead, he watched as they fought. Rather than watch Hermione, he set his focus on Riddle and the way he started to unravel as he all but confessed his true feelings for her without ever saying the words. And just as Hermione lost control of her magic, the reason the lab collapsed in the first place, Draco found himself back in his own mind, staring down at Hermione beneath him once more.

As she sobbed a constant stream of "I'm sorry's," Draco reached out with his own magic and pulled her mind into his as she had just done. He stood at her side and reached for her hand as he showed her the memorial service he'd been to that afternoon. Her hand slipped from his as she fell to her knees; her body convulsing with uncontrollable sobs. They stayed there, long after the scene went dark until she had gotten it all out of her system.

He lay on his back once she had retreated to her own mind and pulled her to his side again. She clung to him and they lay in absolute silence for quite some time.

"I could stay here," she whispered after awhile, her voice hoarse.

He reached up to take the hand that was resting idly on his chest. He brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles before turning to press his lips against her temple. "To do that would be to let Ginny's death be in vain."

He felt her tremble at his side and in response, he tightened his hold on her.

"He knows you're here, Hermione. If you stay, we lose all the advantage we have. He'll consider you going back on your deal and he will come after us with everything he has." He shifted to lay on his side so he could rest his chin atop her head. "We still don't know exactly how to destroy this," he added, reaching up to run a finger over the necklace he had given her. "Until we figure it out, you have to go back."

She burrowed into his embrace even more and shook her head against his chest. He knew that she knew he was right, but just like him, neither one of them were ready to part ways just yet. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the item he had asked his mother for not too long ago. His fingers curled around it as it materialized in his palm. He took a deep breath and shifted so that he had a hold of her left hand.

He slipped the ring onto her finger, stopping just before the one Riddle had given her at the end of the year. "I promise that we will end this, Hermione. That I will do everything in my power to set you free. And when that day comes, you and I can have the life that we were meant to. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you." He brought her hand up to kiss her finger above the rings. "We just have to get through this first."

He had said all of this to her before and he meant it just as much then as he did now.

"He won't see it," he assured her. "Only you and I can."

"I love you, Draco."

"I love you too, Hermione," he said, threading his fingers through hers. "Get some more rest. You don't have to leave right away."

She nodded against him and it wasn't long before just the feel of her in his arms lulled him into slumber.

Sunday, 17 April 2005

Hermione waited until Draco was asleep before she even thought about taking her leave. In the meantime, she studied her hand. It was strange enough to see one ring on her finger let alone two. It forced her to face the fact that she belonged to two men; in different ways. Once, Riddle had told her he was fine with Draco having her heart so long as her body, mind, and soul was his. For the longest of time she thought that was the case, but so many lines had been blurred that she now found herself torn directly down the middle.

Forcing those thoughts away, she pushed herself away from him, making sure that he would stay asleep for a few hours at the most. She conjured a simple black dress and just as she decided to go back to the Manor, the door to the room opened to reveal Luna on the other side.

"For the record, I never thought you betrayed us," Luna said, a soft smile on her face.

Hermione swallowed hard as she gave a curt nod. "Thank you," she breathed. "For everything."

"Will you be safe when you go back?"

Hermione winced unintentionally at the concern in Luna's voice. It was strange to have someone care about her well-being after so long. "I'll be fine," she said, her voice a bit more clipped than she would have liked.

Luna gave a slight nod and reached for the door handle. "I'll see you again, Hermione."

Without another word, Hermione Apparated back to the Manor.

Having learned how long she had been gone and knowing it was just before sunrise of the third day, she chose to reappear in their shared quarters. He wasn't in the bed when she landed facing it, but she felt his presence behind her. She turned to see him coming out of the bathroom, fully dressed. He had stopped at the sight of her; his gaze raking up and down as he contemplated what to do.

She braced herself, prepared for him to lash out as he usually did, but nothing came. Instead of hurting her or trying to assert his dominance with his magic, he simply went about adjusting his cuffs. She swallowed hard in confusion. He was acting as though she hadn't just blown up his lab during a fight. That she hadn't been missing for three days only to suddenly reappear.

"You were at Grimmauld," he said, his voice seemingly loud as it cut through the stifling silence. "With the Resistance."

With Draco.

Though those words remained unspoken.

"Yes."

He stepped closer to her, his hand coming up to grip her chin. She held his gaze as he tilted her face upwards; his grip surprisingly gentle. She let him in when she felt the warmth of his mind at the door of her mental library. She showed him Luna healing her, but kept her moments with Draco to herself.

"Are you going to punish me?" she asked as he retreated for her mind.

His gaze darkened, but otherwise he remained still. "Are you back of your own accord?" he countered.

"Yes."

It was as much of a lie as it was the truth.

Either way, she saw the flash of victory in his eyes as he let go of her chin in favor of cupping her face. His thumb brushed across her bottom lip as he spoke next. "Then I expect you at my side in the throne room in ten minutes. We have important matters to discuss."

And just like that, he was gone.

A/N: Alright, we're at the halfway point, give or take a few chapters...try not to hate me too much lol :)

As always, come on over to my FB group: madrose_writing where you can discuss each chapter in depth! sometimes I drop hints ;)