Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and events don't belong to me… go drop dead if you wanna sue me… =P jk…
Author's Note: Finally… 3 reviews… well, I'll wait for the next three reviews! You must know how Draco actually dies… hehe… **wipes away a tear** it's so… drama… ^_^
I'll be waiting for you…
A flash of light and some pungent aroma of sweets and flowers as well as perfume.
The blonde shook his head and frowned bitterly as the pain in his head ruptured his dream. He sighed after the pain went away, surprisingly fast, and then noticed that he felt more relaxed than before, though he knew that it was time to leave for good…
You have a day, dearest… the sweetness of her voice set Draco's heart set. He would await her coming to save him from the rest of his painful life.
"W—what's that smell?" Draco groaned while sniffing the air.
The curtains around him parted and a plump woman in white robes smiled. "So you're awake at last, Mr. Malfoy!" she moved nearer to the bed.
"M—madam Pomfrey?" Draco stared at her blankly.
"Yes, it is I, the school nurse. You're safe and sound, my dear, except that…" her eyes became a bit moist. "You're blood loss was too much and that wound your father gave you was poisoned… though you also stabbed him with the same weapon… yours… yours was too deep…" she began sobbing hysterically and she quickly ran out of the ward, hands covering her face.
Draco sighed longingly for death to take him swiftly. He hated moments like this except that, now, it felt almost comforting.
Suddenly, the door squeaked open and the chuckle of an old man was all Draco heard. The insistent persuasions of Madam Pomfrey didn't' keep the old man out and she confined herself in her office with a box of tissues in her plump arm.
"Draco, my boy," Albus Dumbledore greeted brightly. He peered over at the whole table stacked with treats and Get-Well-Soon goodies and pulled up a box of Chocolate Frogs.
"Hm… may I?"
Draco nodded and watched the Headmaster open the box and grab a squirming frog and then break off its leg.
"I say, to make a frog stop frogging around, break a leg!" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he ate the chocolaty treat.
"So, I know where you're off to in a while, do you really want to?"
Draco stared thoughtfully at the professor, now and only now, realizing his wisdom and unfortunate behavior of having to know everything about everything.
"Well, don't stare at me for so long!" Dumbledore chuckled jovially. "You might be off before I know it!" he said while munching down another leg. "That's a joke, boy, don't be off all of a sudden. You haven't said goodbye to those whom you saved! Not to mention, the rest of the school…"
"I—Headmaster…" Draco flushed, "I really want to go but I know that—that I mustn't go off yet."
"Good, then, we'll miss you though when you're gone. They say, you'll start to appreciate a person when they're finally gone. Well, that's for the generous and kind-hearted. For people like Voldemort and your… father… well, let's just say, they have some kind of chaotic mind!"
"Lucius… Lucius should be dead by now, shouldn't he?" Draco's eyes shook with hope that he—his father—was dead.
"That, I do not know," Dumbledore shook his head. "Yes, you stabbed him twice actually, his left shoulder and where his liver is but… we can't be so sure if Voldemort told Wormtail to fetch a Death Eater doctor person, eh?"
"B—but Voldemort—he was burning away and everything!"
"Voldemort… hmm… the sky's still bright, good!" Dumbledore smiled warmly, "He has an incredible amount of power, doesn't he? He survived so much that I wouldn't be surprised if he was still alive. Yet, I have my own doubts that he is still alive. After all, who would like living in a body that's now rotten and smelly?"
Draco lightened up and smiled a reply.
"Ha! I got you, my boy! You've never smiled so warmly! Ever!" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled some more as he ate another leg of the frog.
Draco relaxed in his bed and looked towards the heap of food that lay right beside his bed.
"Hm… I think you'd like something from the table?" the Headmaster walked to the bedside. "Oh, would you like a lemon drop? It's my favorite actually."
"Thank you, Headmaster," Draco nodded slowly.
"Would you like me to open it for you, right now?"
"Yes, please," Draco nodded again. The Headmaster took out a large yellow pouch and drew from it a small yellow plastic-covered candy and gingerly opened it.
"Open up, boy, of course, don't tell Poppy I gave you these. She can be so careful sometimes," the old man winked and put the sticky candy into Draco's free hand. The young boy carefully but slowly put the sweet object into his mouth. "Well, do you like it?"
Draco smiled some more and nodded.
"I always say, alright, now always, a lemon drop may be named after lemons but its sweetness is that of strawberries… or not…" Dumbledore chuckled as Draco watched him intently. "Ah, boy, it is a waste that you'll go hours away from now. You could've made more friends besides the Slytherins. By the way, Poppy didn't let Pansy in since her gift to you was too—err—not so good for the sick…"
"What did she bring, Headmaster?" Draco thought of pugs and little toy dogs. Ew…
"Hm… well… It's a book."
"A book?" Oh dear, Draco thought, not one of those bad dating books again…
"A How to Date one so Gorgeous and Rich book."
"I thought so, actually…"
"Well, do you want it?" Dumbledore poked a nice blooming sunflower in a vase. "You like sunflowers?"
"I don't want the book, Headmaster. You do know why…" Draco sighed gently. "And I don't like sunflowers."
"Hm… very well… do you mind if I take one up to my office? I enjoy watching them look for the sun considering the many holes in the walls thanks to the portraits."
"Sure, Headmaster," Draco complied.
"Oh yes, at the feast tonight, we'll bring you to the Great Hall. You guardian told me already when she'll call for you. You have a choice: Either in public or in private."
"Actually, I have a yearning for people to cry for me… but… I wanted to talk to my guardian in private…"
"Then, have a few friends over by your bed in your dormitory," Dumbledore suggested. "Do you want a Bertie Bean?"
"Please don't make it troll buggers… or anything nasty," Draco cringed.
Dumbledore cautiously picked from the large box of Every Flavored Beans and selected a nice red one with pink swirls and black dots.
Draco took it in his free hand and chewed…
"This is the best and only good one I've tasted!"
"What is it?"
"Strawberry, at last!" Draco smiled again and Dumbledore let out a long sigh.
"You're getting on with sighing, aren't you, my boy?"
Draco nodded brightly and looked away towards the window.
"Hm… well, I'll call for you for the feast tonight, alright? Do hang on," Dumbledore added softly and turned and went through the curtains and closed them quietly. He called back, "do enjoy your soon-to-be-home!" and the door creaked and shut.
"I never realized that he was better than Lucius or Dumbledore or any one of them at all and even combined!" Draco said to himself while trying to reach for a nice red rose on the table to his left. "Ah! I can't get it!"
"Draco, I'll get it for you," a sweet voice that was familiar suddenly appeared to be more solid. A hand reached out for the rose and attached to that hand was an arm, and to that, a whole body and face!
"H—huh?" Draco stared.
"It's a day, dearest, that's all. I can touch you once in this form and that'll be that. Then, I'll come back for you later," his guardian said tenderly.
"B—but how?"
"I wish a lot, Draco. Don't worry, there's no consequence," she handed the rose to him. "For once, I desperately wanted to touch your mortal form and now, I will."
Draco let a tear fall down his eye and cheek and then the gentle hand of his guardian, best friend, and lover reached out and brushed the tear away. She started to fade slowly and so she clasped her hands around Draco's and kissed them softly. As only little was left, Draco reached down and quickly pulled her up without effort and landed a nice deep kiss onto her and she was gone. Another tear fell down his face but he was happy.
"Now, now, students!" Dumbledore stood up and the whole of the Great Hall silenced. "Two long weeks ago, a very surprising hero turned up and nearly lost his life saving three others. With valiance and a tremendous amount of knowledge, he helped beat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, fine, Voldemort.
"But with that, he paid a price, his health and his honor in his family. But here, and all around the world now, he will have the best honor there is! Here he is, Draco Malfoy, a Malfoy never to be but a Draco eternally," Dumbledore motioned to the boy that sat quietly on his right, his silver eyes slightly glistening at the pleasure and sight that shone down upon him.
The whole of the Great Hall cheered and no one—surprisingly—booed or mocked him. For once in his lifetime, he was happy. But that moment would last only for a short time for he knew of what was to come.
Draco slowly stood with the help of the Slytherin Head, Severus Snape, his House Head and Potions Master as well as The Man to go to When Potter Makes Fun of Him.
Snape shook the boy's hand warmly and he sat down. But if you'd look closely, his eyes were moist and shaky.
Draco took in a deep breath and started, "for so long, I've wanted to die and to be just carried away. Two weeks ago, I realized that I too had a mission here on his Earth. I realized that if I loved something so dearly, I would do anything and everything to try to save it and to prevent anything from hurting that thing so dear to me.
"You may think that what I'm saying is scripted but no, I know now what my worth was in this world and surprisingly, it wasn't worth nothing. It was worth at least a bit of something in history.
"I can't keep this long since the more energetic people will tire easily of what I have to say but, please, realize that there are no perfect sides in this world, realize that everything has to maintain its balance and its rank in this planet. None of you are special, even Harry Potter has his mishaps and Hermione isn't all that calm and smart in everything. Not even I have the right to say that I am above you. I've come to realize that and now, I've come to say my farewell since this speech is also getting boring for me," Draco looked to Dumbledore and nodded then sat down.
"By the way, I'd like to also thank Harry Potter for his tremendous work and courage, Hermione Granger for her loyalty to Harry and being not the one to run away when a giant snake would attack, and of course, Ron Weasley who is admirable since he hates every bit of the Slytherins until Draco came along and took some part of that hate away. That is all I guess!" he smiled and raised his goblet filled with wine, "a toast! A toast to the four!"
A roar of applause replied and everyone—yes, everyone—raised his or her goblets and glasses and mugs all at once. The Slytherins, the Gryffindors, the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs raised them and shouted, Cheers!
They all sipped or gulped down the drinks and set them down then returned to clapping.
"Now, now, and again, I'd like to say thank you so much, Draco, for all you've done that's good and of course, the bad," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled again and he patted the boy gently then sat down.
TBC