Hogwarts
November 30, 2006
Hermione had one day left to prove herself adept at wielding the ancient magic, before the Dark Lord made good on his threat to take more drastic action. While she and Draco had successfully retrieved the diadem from the Room of Requirement, they had found it was nearly impossible to get the snake alone.
With time running out until their self-imposed deadline, they had developed a plan; it was a crazy plan, but at this point they didn't really feel like they had anything to lose.
Draco had successfully convinced his father to arrange an 'engagement party' for him and Astoria, which Draco suggested under the guise that Astoria still hadn't made many friends, and a party would be a good way for her to meet people. Lucius seemed so happy to see his son taking an active interest in his engagement that he hadn't overtly questioned his motives.
That was how Hermione found herself in the Hogwarts Great Hall that night, surrounded by all 50 Death Eaters between the ages of 20 and 30. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Draco played his role to perfection, introducing Astoria to everyone, laughing at all the right moments, and even lightly touching her arm when appropriate. Hermione stuck to Millie like glue, unwilling to be alone with a single male Death Eater.
"This is so wonderful!" Mille commented, the pair seated at one of the small tables scattered throughout the hall. "It's so lovely to have something to celebrate."
Hermione offered a false smile. "Of course." But she was merely waiting. Once the Dark Lord made his expected appearance, Hermione and Draco would implement their plan.
"How have you been?" Millie asked with a slight frown.
Hermione blinked, not expecting the sudden shift. "Oh, I'm adapting." It was an understatement of sorts. She felt her left-hand graze the handle of her gun, the cold metal like a reassuring hug from a friend.
"That's good!" Millie smiled again. "You just seem a little... tense."
"Oh." Hermione dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. "It's just – strange to be around so many people I don't know."
"Of course." Millie nodded and turned to focus on her food, leaving Hermione to continue stealthily searching the hall for the Dark Lord. There! She saw him in the corner, no snake flanking him, thankfully. Hermione made eye contact with Draco for a brief moment before returning her focus to Millie.
"Ooh," Hermione moaned, placing her hand on her stomach. "I'm feeling a bit off. I think I'm going to go and find a potion."
"Do you need me to come with you?" Millie asked.
"Oh, no! Don't worry about it. I have something upstairs." She pointed and waved goodbye, vaguely aware of Draco's eyes tracking her.
Once she was out of the Great Hall, she pulled out the map, trying to find a vacant path to the snake's quarters. She had to go down to the dungeons, and then back up and down yet again before, finally, she approached what was known as the "Dark Lord's Wing." He had claimed the entire section in and around the Headmaster's office for some unknown reason. Hermione supposed he thought himself a headmaster of sorts and the Death Eaters his students.
Upon entering the threshold of the snake's room, she checked that there was no one there and pulled out the diadem. She and Draco didn't know for sure if the act of destroying the Horcrux would alert the Dark Lord, but they decided it made sense for her to destroy them both at the same time, just in case.
She checked the time; she needed to be done and at the edge of the enchanted forest to meet Draco in ten minutes. The sword in hand, she aimed for the diadem, about to split it in two when she was suddenly hit with a foreboding realization. There was no way she and Draco would live! What was the point of this whole thing? Who cared about the birth rate! Was it worth it, if it meant her or Draco's death? Of course not!
Oh, she realized, shaking herself out of the sudden melancholy. It was that same feeling of utter hopelessness she had felt when she had touched the locket in Cambridge. But it wasn't real; or if it was real, it was heavily influenced, a distorted version of reality that had no bearing, she told herself. So why couldn't she just bring the sword down on the tiara? It was just an object! But the naggingfeeling got to her; the question of what happens next? What if she was wrong and this didn't fix everything? What if it somehow made everything worse?
She stopped and dropped her arms to her sides, the point of the sword dinging against the floor. She needed to stop thinking about the Horcrux. She distracted herself with other thoughts; she considered a world where there was no Event, where perhaps she would have studied at Hogwarts. Would she have still met Draco? Or perhaps in that world, they would have been enemies? She thought about her life, all of her pain and suffering and the trials she'd been put through, and wondered if it was worth it to have met Draco, to see him become something more than he was.
Finally, she swung, the sword easily breaking the diadem in two.
She turned and saw the snake looking at her curiously. Hermione stalked towards it, continuing to avoid thinking about the matter at hand. Only, the snake wasn't an inanimate object; it was alive. It slithered and dodged and nearly bit her. But it wasn't used to humans with Hermione's level of agility and, after it evaded her sword and lashed out at her several more times, finally, she was able to slice it in half. Its severed body rolled in different directions across the floor, leaving blood pooling at her feet. She looked at the time — she only had three minutes left to meet Draco at the forest, so she ran.
She began to hear the alarms go off, a sharp squeak that indicated Voldemort either detected her in his quarters or felt the destruction of one of his Horcruxes. She was almostthere, only a few hallways from the doors that led to the grounds, when Amycus Carrow appeared, a snarl on his face as he spat, "You thought you could pull one over on the Dark Lord, little Mudblood?"
Hermione knew she didn't have much time; if Amycus Carrow could find her, then she was sure the others weren't far behind. He was blocking her way, and she didn't have the time or ability to check the map for an alternate route, so she would have to fight her way through. Without giving it much thought, she shouted "'Stupefy!'" but he easily blocked it.
He laughed, approaching her with his wand out, but before he had a chance to utter a spell, her left hand was raised, and she had pulled the trigger of her gun twice. The shots boomed and echoed, and she watched with some satisfaction as one shot hit him straight in the head and the other went through his chest. He fell to the floor, the light in his eyes going out immediately, and Hermione started running again, aware that the shots would draw the others right to her. She was so close; she had finally reached the doors to the grounds when she was pulled behind a tapestry, a hand covering her mouth.
"Shh!" a voice whispered, and Hermione turned, wide-eyed at Astoria Greengrass.
"What are you doing?" Hermione hissed, but Astoria simply signaled for her to be quiet and ran out of the tapestry.
"She's over here!" Astoria shouted, leading the Death Eaters in the direction of the Great Hall and leaving Hermione dumbfounded, her path now free. She shook herself and headed outside, activating a shield charm as she ran.
"Draco."
Draco jumped, turning and raising his wand as his father came into focus. He had just reached his and Hermione's agreed upon meeting spot with one minute to spare.
"Father," Draco started, his heart beating erratically as he avoided the compulsive urge to scratch the scar on his right shoulder.
"What have you done, Draco?" His father hissed, looking livid and circling him.
Draco's anger exploded within him. He recalled every moment he had held his tongue, every time he had been a dutiful son. "What have I done? What did you do! That monster killed my mother!"
Draco saw the split second his father's eyes appeared conflicted, before his mask fell back into place.
Lucius intoned, "I have always done what I have needed to do. For the betterment of all wizardkind."
"He's insane! Do you not see that? Hermione's not going to create the world the Dark Lord wants! He's delusional!" Draco spat, watching his father's dull eyes.
Lucius chuckled. "You don't get it, do you? The Dark Lord never imagined your little Mudblood would help. He let her think she was in control, for the time being, but he always intended to take her power."
Draco let that sink in for a moment, but shook his head. The fact was irrelevant; he wouldn't let Voldemort get to her. "And you think that's okay? That it's okay for him to just take a witch's powers?" Draco argued.
"She is nothing," Lucius spat, circling Draco. "You think I haven't noticed the way you watch her? I've been watching you, Draco. I see the way you touch her. It's... nauseating."
Draco shook his head and laughed. "Really? You have the stomach to handle the Dark Lord killing your wife, but you can't stand the sight of me touching a Muggleborn witch?"
"She's a Muggleborn now? Not a Mudblood?" Lucius mocked him. "I bet you fancy yourself in love with her."
Draco smiled. "I feel confident you would never for a minute understand how I feel."
"Watch your mouth, boy!" Lucius snarled
"I would never let that monster kill Hermione, like you did your 'love'," Draco argued.
"You don't know what you're talking about." Lucius' eyes flashed in anger, and his wand shifted menacingly.
"I know that my mother destroyed something of the Dark Lord's, and he wanted revenge," Draco yelled.
Lucius laughed. "You... are the most ungrateful child."
Draco frowned at the outburst. "What? Because you raised me in this atrocity? You're unbelievable!"
Lucius ignored him. "The Dark Lord gave me a choice; it was you or your mother."
Draco grew quiet, bowing his head sadly in realization. "Oh father," he started, tears forming in his eyes. "He never gave you a choice at all."
He nodded discreetly at Hermione who had just arrived. She shot Lucius in the knee and the wrist of his wand hand, disarming Lucius instantly as he collapsed to the ground.
"We've got to go!" Hermione shouted and grabbed Draco's hand, leading them to the Whomping Willow. They followed the Map's instructions and tapped the knot on the tree, entering through the small pathway. Hermione felt immense relief as the trunk behind them closed. It was only then that she realized the state Draco was in. "What's wrong?" she asked.
He was panting, his hand grasping his right shoulder. "I think you know."
She shook her head. "No – come on, we just have to get to the end of this corridor and we can Apparate to London, and this will all be over."
"I can't move Hermione!" He pulled down his sleeve and showed her his shoulder; the scar was inflamed, but that wasn't the point.
It was a lightning bolt, just like the symbol in his mother's and Regulus Black's journals and on the snake and the diadem. "I don't know how he's doing it, but he won't let me leave. I'm sure it's the only reason we got this far."
"I don't care!" she cried out. "I'll drag you out myself! This isn't the end." She gripped his forearms and attempted to forcibly pull him through the corridor.
"I'm the last Horcrux, Hermione. I've suspected it since Cambridge, but as soon as I saw the snake I knew. You must've known as well..." He swallowed.
Hermione shook her head and repeated, "I don't care. I — yes, I wondered when I saw the lightning bolt and when you said there was a person... I figured we'd have time to figure it out. That I'd find a way. I didn't think it would come to this. Please. I'll knock you out or drag you—"
"You can't! Hermione, you know what you have to do. You have to stab me; get rid of it." Draco stood, straightening as though to give her a clear shot.
She shook her head. "I can't do it. You can't make me. No. I won't do it. We'll get you back to London. I'm a scientist! I'll find a way to get it out of you. I'm not going to kill you, Draco."
She grabbed him again, trying in vain to pull him through the corridor. She wore herself down and he held onto her, his cheek resting against her hair as she cried.
"You can Hermione. You're strong, and you're smart. You know this is what has to happen. We have to destroy all of the Horcruxes. You have to kill me. You have to!" Draco pleaded, but Hermione just kept her head buried in his chest, trying to push him, trying desperately to reach that magic. Wasn't this the worst thing that could possibly happen? Why couldn't she do anything now, when she needed to?
"No. No! I'm not going to do it. You can't put this on me. I can't—"
He cut off her rant with a kiss, their lips moistened from tears and their arms grabbing for one another, as if they would be able to stay together and be okay if they just held on.
"I can't Draco," she told him, breaking the kiss and clutching his shirt.
"Hermione, it's not up to you; it's up to me. Because I don't want to be this thing. I would rather be dead than be his. He'll be here soon if we don't do this. Please, Hermione," Draco begged, his eyes darting across her face, desperately trying to remember every blemish and line.
"You don't understand," she told him, shaking her head. "I've been lying to you. This whole time. I dotrust you. I trust you so much it scares me! I know whatever happens, you're always there. When I was attacked, I tried running to your house! Because you're the only person in the world I've ever felt safe with.
"I've been so scared, Draco. Every day I tell myself that what we have isn't real, that it's temporary or fraudulent. Because when I think about you, I'm not logical. You said that I'm rational? But I'm not with you! For God's sake, Draco! I wasn't even upset when I found out you were sent to retrieve me, I was upset when I found out you were engaged! That's not rational. It's idiotic.
"So no, I can't kill you Draco. Because I'm desperately in love with you, and the idea of not having you is too much for me to bear. Remember my Patronus? The albatross? The memory of pure happiness? It was when we danced that night in the Uninhabitable Zone and you just held me in your arms. Because when I'm with you, I've always felt safe — sometimes when I shouldn't. Even back in the Uninhabitable Zone..." she trailed off and exhaled sharply, completely spent.
Draco spoke softly, "And I'm in love with you too. And I wish it wasn't like this. But looking back, I would rather die now, having known you, than have it any other way. I would rather my death be my choice, than to give up that freedom. Hermione... this isn't about you. Please." He cupped her face with his hands, forcing her to look at him. "My world was shadows until you, Hermione. I didn't know it, but it was like seeing only black and white. You showed me the world — you showed me the true forms around me. I see in color now. I wasn't free until you found me, and I refuse to lose that again. I won't go back to that cave. I won't go back to only seeing shadows. Hermione, please. This is my choice."
"I'll never forgive you," she told him, shaking her head.
He nodded. "But you'll have your world. And you'll have science and magic and all of it. You'll go on to do incredible things I'm sure, and save the world."
She blinked, trying to find some sort of magic or phrase that would fix this. He kissed her once more and grabbed the sword, pressing the hilt into her palm.
"Maybe it won't kill you?" she suggested, her voice hoarse as she tentatively lifted the blade.
He shook his head. "You know it won't work unless it does."
She cried anew, her body shaking and her shoulders heaving. "I love you," she told him, closing her eyes.
She pushed the sword into his chest, as quickly as she could.
She opened her eyes, her breath hitching at the sight of the sword buried in him. She pulled the blade out quickly, letting it unceremoniously clang to the ground.
He smiled, grabbing her arms as he slowly collapsed. They sat together, wrapped in each other, memorizing one another. Hermione brushed kisses across his face and neck, trying to hold on to every last moment.
"I love you," he told her, blood seeping freely from his chest as his breathing became labored. Hermione held onto him, unbothered by her ugly tears, and screaming nonsensically as she heard his heartbeat slow to a stop.
And that's when she felt it. Something light flowed through her as she collapsed onto him, grasping the last of his warmth.
3 days earlier – Chamonix
"The thing is Harry," Dumbledore said slowly, "prophecies really are tricky things... Especially when they're incomplete."
Harry looked at him, wide-eyed. "What does that mean?"
"I was interviewing a potential divination instructor when the prophecy was revealed to me. It shook me to my very core. I assumed that it would do the same to Voldemort. So, I allowed him to learn most of it. But I left out a few key words, so that he would not understand his role in it." Dumbledore smiled.
Harry repeated, "What does that mean?"
"It means I was able to keep Voldemort occupied without quite understanding."
"So what was the actual prophecy?" Harry asked.
"I suppose now, with events shaping as they are, there is no harm in sharing it with you:
Seventeen years past Magic's great reveal
In the land claimed by magic
The dark lord's twice chosen shall rise
The chosen alone has the power to choose
To retrieve what was taken
And restore what was lost
Lest it be the end for us all."
Harry stood, his mind whirling, until he finally shook his head. "I don't think it's about Hermione at all..."
Hermione's eyes grew wide as the feeling that had swept through her suddenly vanished and she felt Draco's chest impossibly rise. He jolted, his eyes blinking. He looked down at his right shoulder, gasping in relief to see the scar faded, inert. They looked at one another silently, and Hermione helped pull him up.
And on Hogwarts grounds, the Nexus of magic, Draco Malfoy rose.