Disclaimer: nope. Don't own this stuff.
~*~
Thank you's
~*~
Selvagem: lol, when I first started this story I told myself nothing too dark or gruesome. . .haha, look where that got me. This fic is nothing but dark and gruesome! Lol, thanks for the review, as usual!
Sex & Diamonds: me too!
Snapegirl: me? Finish off draco? Why I would never, lol. I love him too much.
ellie-bob: ok. Quit asking me that question. Yes I am going to write more, see, this right here, it's more. Thank you for reviewing. Sorta.
Nikki: lol, yeah. Lucius died a nasty painful death. . .but eh, he was still evil even as he died. Poor draco. Never getting his wish. I'll be sure to comfort him.
Jamie Anderson: hehe, I don't mind if draco gets a little naughty, hehehe. *pats draco on the head next to me again.*
Princess642: I leave you with cliffie cuz im evil, mwahahahahahahahaha. Eh, actually it just worked out that way, lol. Thanks for the review, and oh yeah, I had to kill Ron, he had to die! Lol.
tigerbrat88: you made me smile and get all happy! I loved your review, it was so sweet, lol. Thank you so much.
0: 1st review: hehe thanks. There will be about two more chapters, I believe. 2nd review: actually. . .I got the rictusempra spell correct. Sorta. I had to look it up to make sure. Rictusempra is actually the dueling knockback charm. Rictusempra allows the skilled wizard duelist to knock back an opponent leaving him or her vulnerable to hits. That comes directly from the Harry Potter 2 Chamber of Secrets CD-ROM instruction manual. That's where I got that from. But you were correct, now that I've looked at the Chamber of Secrets book. On page 192 of the soft back copy, it does state it is the tickling charm. So, I guess we're both sort of right, even though you were more so. So. . .lol, sorry about that! Thanks for pointing it out! (
Young Golden Unicorn: aww thanks! Lol, im writing im writing.
Albinofrog88: lol, yup finally, the bastard is dead.
Hurdlingbaybe06: lol, yeah well it was supposed to be gros, lol. And you'll find out what's going on with ginny and blaise soon enough.
Willowfairy: he's really dead. Ron will not be coming back to life. Sorry guys, he had to die.
Elendea: aww thank you. I'm really glad you like it. Lol, yup, everyone hates lucius. It's quite funny.
~*~
A/N: rictusempra is, in fact only a mere tickling charm according to the book. I didn't look that up really, I looked in the instruction manual of the CD ROM, where that SHOULD have been correct. Damn WB making mistakes. So, again, sorry about that. Let's pretend I said. . .oh, flipendo or something. Lol, ok, well on to chapter 16.
~*~
Chapter 16
~*~
Blaise looked at Ginny with a befuddled expression on her face. "You need me to help you?" she asked, making sure to elucidate the pronouns.
Ginny nodded slowly. She watched as Blaise gestured for her to continue. "Well, erm, Harry and Ron went after Hermione and Draco."
The apathetic look on Blaise's face changed instantly. Her eyes went wide and a fire lit inside them. "They what??!"
Ginny was about to repeat to her what she just said when Blaise shook her head and held up her hand. "I did hear you correctly, didn't I? Your brother and Potter went after Draco and Granger?"
Ginny nodded again.
Blaise began pacing around the room speaking profusely to no one in particular. "They went after them? Who in their right mind would go after them? Lucius would kill them. He will kill them. He probably has killed them. Oh gods, why are Gryffindors such dolts sometimes?"
Ginny looked slightly taken aback. Blaise seemed to notice the offence she committed and looked to Ginny apologetically. "Sorry. Wait, why aren't you with them? I thought you would follow your little boyfriend everywhere."
Ginny shrugged. "They wouldn't let me. I tried, but they told me it was too dangerous. So I just kind of went to think for awhile, then I remembered that you and Draco were good friends, so. . ." Blaise interrupted Ginny.
"Wait, how did you know about Draco and I? Not even everyone in Slytherin knows about us. How would you know?"
Ginny gave an embarrassed smile as she answered her. "Well, we. . .Harry, Ron, and I, sort of overheard a conversation between you and Pansy."
Blaise snorted at Pansy's name. "I cannot believe she did Draco in like that. She is such an idiot. I swear, if I didn't know that her mother loves her, I would kill her." She glanced over to Ginny and smirked slightly. "So. . .what do you need my help with?"
Ginny took a breath. "I need you to go with me to the Malfoy Manor."
Blaise looked at Ginny as if she were crass. "Are you serious?" Ginny nodded. Blaise looked down at her hands for a moment, then looked back up at Ginny. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."
Ginny's normally pale complexion turned bright red, and it wasn't from embarrassment. "Why not?" she asked crossing her arms.
Blaise looked slightly shocked at Ginny's response, but nevertheless answered her. "Because. It's too dangerous."
Ginny couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Blaise, my brother, my boyfriend, and my best friend are all in that house, along with your best friend! Now, I don't care if you're too scared of Lucius Malfoy, because you're coming with me regardless!"
Blaise backed away from Ginny. Now she knew just what they meant by Gryffindor courage. It was something that could make a normally quiet and collected person a raging beast, and she definitely did not want to argue with a beast at that moment.
"Fine, but you must do as I say. You have no idea what we may find when we get there. Understand?" Blaise demanded.
Ginny smiled and saluted Blaise. "Yes ma'am."
Blaise smiled in spite of herself. She could get used to this kid. If they lived long enough, that is.
~*~
The two stood in front of the fireplace in the Slytherin common room twenty minutes later. They had to get some things from Blaise's dorm before they headed off.
"You ready?" Blaise asked quietly. Ginny nodded quickly. "Alright then," came Blaise's short response.
Stepping into the fireplace Blaise called out, "Malfoy Manor!" and was soon out of sight. Ginny followed seconds later. Ginny found Blaise brushing off her clothes as she stepped out of the fireplace.
She looked around at the dark blue and silver room. "Whose room are we in?" Ginny asked.
Blaise surveyed the room quickly. "Draco's."
Ginny nodded her head in acknowledgement to Blaise's response and wandered to the door. She had almost turned the handle when Blaise pulled her hand back. "Wait. There could be someone out there." She whispered.
Ginny watched as Blaise pulled something from her robes that looked something like a compact mirror and held it up to the door. Nothing happened at first, but then Ginny noticed a blurry hole appearing from under the mirror. Blaise peered into it and turned her head slightly as if she were trying to look further down the hall.
"No one's there. Come on." Blaise said as she tugged Ginny out of the room by her robes.
~*~
Harry watched the grotesque action of regurgitation that Draco had unfortunately been reduced to. Draco was still on his knees, covered in the blood of his father and himself. He was pale, even more so than usual, and tiny droplets of sweat beaded through his hair and down his face, dripping silently in a dollop on the floor. He fell to the wall, his back connecting with it gently and he wiped away at his forehead with the sleeve of his robes. Tears were still making their streams down his face, but he paid them no heed.
Harry left from beside the door to the cell Hermione was cooped up in reluctantly and sat rather uneasily next to Draco at the wall. He had no idea what to say to him. What do you say to someone after such an event? Finally, he let out a breath.
"Thank you."
Draco looked a little shocked. "For what?"
Harry shrugged. "Everything. . .I guess. You saved my life. You saved Hermione's life. You were there for her. You helped her."
Draco looked up venomously. "Well it wasn't like you were doing anything for her. For the past two months all you've been able to do is snog with Weaslette. You didn't even realize anything was wrong, Potter. Do you know how horrible she felt about that? And even worse, the only help she was getting was coming from me. Her biggest enemy. It should have come from her best friend, Potter, not me."
Harry nodded. "I know. But she loves you now."
Draco scoffed. "Yeah and look where that has gotten her. Shut up in a cell, being raped and beaten. She doesn't deserve that. No one deserves that. And the bastard actually made me watch him do it." He said gritting his teeth together and standing.
Harry stood up after him and followed him to Hermione's cell. A faint breathing came from the other side. He approached it slowly and mumbled an inaudible spell to unlock the door. There was a loud click and the door swung open brashly, giving Draco only a second to get out of the way.
Hermione lay in a crumpled heap, dirty, naked, and still unconscious. Draco rubbed his eyes. "I mean look at her, Potter. Look what happened to her because she loved me. This is what happens. That's why I don't let people close, Potter. That's why I am the way I am. But then she came. And I threw away everything for her, and all she gets is this. The first girl I fall in love with. . .the only girl I ever will fall in love with. . .gets this treatment. I can't take it." Draco rubbed at his eyes a bit more, pushing in the unshed tears.
Harry watched dolefully as Draco took off his cloak and covered her body with it. He couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy had just opened up to him, his nemesis. He found that he respected the guy now. In a matter of twenty-four hours, he had gone from hating the guy to admiring him. "Draco. . .Hermione deserves you. You deserve her. Trust me."
Draco gave him a tiny smile and looked over to his father loathingly. Harry noticed the glance.
"How did you learn how to do that?" he asked.
Draco looked slightly confused. "Do what?"
Harry continued. "How did you learn how to throw a knife like that. I mean, you unleashed that perfectly. That couldn't have been luck. It was too perfect."
Draco shrugged a little. "My cousin taught me a few years ago. He tried to put me in a knife-throwing competition because I got so good. I declined though. My father used to bring me down here a couple of years ago and he would cut me with that dagger on my lower back and my legs. I used his own torture devices to kill him. . ."
Harry looked towards Ron and felt the area behind his eyes begin to sting. 'It shouldn't have been Ron to die,' he thought to himself. 'He was there for Hermione. She needs him more than she needs me.' He felt the tears fall from his eyes for a second time that night. Draco didn't say a word. He only bent down to Hermione and caressed her face, easing her to wake up.
"Hermione. . .baby, wake up." He gently placed her hair behind her ear, stroking the smooth flesh on her face. "Wake up Hermione. It's over." Hermione shifted a little and her eyes slowly opened.
Everything seemed blurry at first, out of focus. As her vision came back steadily, she noticed blond hair and pale skin, a strong body, hovering over her. She sat up briskly, holding the cloak tightly to her and shrieked, sliding back to the wall in fear. "Get away from me!" she screamed, kicking at Draco.
"Hermione! It's me, it's Draco. Calm down, Hermione, it's only me." He reached in to pull her into a hug, but she recoiled from his touch. Tears flew to her eyes and she backed away even further. She obviously thought that Draco was Lucius.
Harry seemed to notice what was happening and walked into the cell with Draco. He kneeled down next to Hermione and scooped her into his arms. "Come on, Hermione. We need to get you to the infirmary." She nodded slightly, wrapping her arms around Harry's neck, clinging tightly.
"Harry. . ." came her soft whisper. "Where's Ron at?"
Harry swallowed hard and glanced at Hermione's face. "Where is he?" she repeated.
"I would like to know that as well." Everyone looked up in shock at the extra voice coming from the bottom of the stairs. "Ginny. . ." Harry confirmed, then looked towards Blaise, who stood with her. "Blaise."
"Harry? Where is he? Where's Ron at?" Ginny's voice trembled as she questioned him. Hermione looked into Harry's eyes, pleading with her own for the truth.
"Right here." Draco told everyone as he trudged around the corner carrying the limp form of Ron over his back. Ginny let out a small shriek as she saw her lifeless brother. Hermione gasped and buried her head in Harry's shoulder. Blaise lifted a hand to her mouth.
Ginny's eyes welled with tears as she ran over to where Draco had laid Ron down on his back. "Ron! Ronald Weasley, no. no you can't be dead. You can't do this to me, Ron! You can't leave me here! Ron. . ." she tugged at his shirt, shaking him in vain, hoping he was only asleep, ignoring the blood that had dried around his neck.
Draco mumbled from over by Blaise. "He isn't going to wake up Weasley." He said it gently, trying to tell her the truth simply. She looked at him, and the tears flowed from her eyes, tracing down her face in large streams, branching off from each other like tributaries and junctions, spilling from her face and soaking the material of Ron's shirt as she clutched onto him desperately, unwilling to let go.
Harry felt Hermione's entire body shake as she cried silently to herself, and he kissed the top of her head, and stroked her hair, as more tears fell from his own eyes, dropping heavily into Hermione's hair. He heard Hermione begin to speak.
"No. . .no. . .no. . .no. . ." she repeated it over and over, the one word, her entire body quaking with silent tears, and Draco and Blaise watched dejectedly from by the stairs, they were sitting and Blaise had her arms wrapped around Draco's shoulders as his body shook uncontrollably, every single emotion he had crashing together. He didn't cry though. He had cried too much.
Ginny let out a small whimper into the air, and Hermione had stopped crying, and was now instead looking off into oblivion, her eyes shrouded with an unknown barrier. Harry pulled her around a corner and sat her down, draping the cloak over her, and buttoning it up, then pulled her back into his arms again.
She clung to his neck tighter this time, and he felt her nails gripping into his back, and he wondered for a moment if she was reliving every event of the night she had, or if she was reliving every moment she and Ron had shared. And as she clenched onto him tighter, pulling at his robes, he knew that she was thinking of both.
He brought his mouth to her ear and whispered in it softly. "It's okay, Hermione. It will be okay. I promise." The only response he got from her was a brisk shake of her head, a look of fear in her eyes, and two arms tightening around his neck.
~*~
A/N: hi. Hope you like that chap. Only one more to go. Ack, I can't believe I'm almost done with my first fic. I hope you review. Make me happy and cheesy and maybe you'll get the last chapter faster. I love those reviews! Lol, keep them coming and I will love you forever. Wow. . .I'm almost done. That's so scary! I actually committed myself to something. Lol, whew. Ok, well, review please!
REVIEW!
~*~
Thank you's
~*~
Selvagem: lol, when I first started this story I told myself nothing too dark or gruesome. . .haha, look where that got me. This fic is nothing but dark and gruesome! Lol, thanks for the review, as usual!
Sex & Diamonds: me too!
Snapegirl: me? Finish off draco? Why I would never, lol. I love him too much.
ellie-bob: ok. Quit asking me that question. Yes I am going to write more, see, this right here, it's more. Thank you for reviewing. Sorta.
Nikki: lol, yeah. Lucius died a nasty painful death. . .but eh, he was still evil even as he died. Poor draco. Never getting his wish. I'll be sure to comfort him.
Jamie Anderson: hehe, I don't mind if draco gets a little naughty, hehehe. *pats draco on the head next to me again.*
Princess642: I leave you with cliffie cuz im evil, mwahahahahahahahaha. Eh, actually it just worked out that way, lol. Thanks for the review, and oh yeah, I had to kill Ron, he had to die! Lol.
tigerbrat88: you made me smile and get all happy! I loved your review, it was so sweet, lol. Thank you so much.
0: 1st review: hehe thanks. There will be about two more chapters, I believe. 2nd review: actually. . .I got the rictusempra spell correct. Sorta. I had to look it up to make sure. Rictusempra is actually the dueling knockback charm. Rictusempra allows the skilled wizard duelist to knock back an opponent leaving him or her vulnerable to hits. That comes directly from the Harry Potter 2 Chamber of Secrets CD-ROM instruction manual. That's where I got that from. But you were correct, now that I've looked at the Chamber of Secrets book. On page 192 of the soft back copy, it does state it is the tickling charm. So, I guess we're both sort of right, even though you were more so. So. . .lol, sorry about that! Thanks for pointing it out! (
Young Golden Unicorn: aww thanks! Lol, im writing im writing.
Albinofrog88: lol, yup finally, the bastard is dead.
Hurdlingbaybe06: lol, yeah well it was supposed to be gros, lol. And you'll find out what's going on with ginny and blaise soon enough.
Willowfairy: he's really dead. Ron will not be coming back to life. Sorry guys, he had to die.
Elendea: aww thank you. I'm really glad you like it. Lol, yup, everyone hates lucius. It's quite funny.
~*~
A/N: rictusempra is, in fact only a mere tickling charm according to the book. I didn't look that up really, I looked in the instruction manual of the CD ROM, where that SHOULD have been correct. Damn WB making mistakes. So, again, sorry about that. Let's pretend I said. . .oh, flipendo or something. Lol, ok, well on to chapter 16.
~*~
Chapter 16
~*~
Blaise looked at Ginny with a befuddled expression on her face. "You need me to help you?" she asked, making sure to elucidate the pronouns.
Ginny nodded slowly. She watched as Blaise gestured for her to continue. "Well, erm, Harry and Ron went after Hermione and Draco."
The apathetic look on Blaise's face changed instantly. Her eyes went wide and a fire lit inside them. "They what??!"
Ginny was about to repeat to her what she just said when Blaise shook her head and held up her hand. "I did hear you correctly, didn't I? Your brother and Potter went after Draco and Granger?"
Ginny nodded again.
Blaise began pacing around the room speaking profusely to no one in particular. "They went after them? Who in their right mind would go after them? Lucius would kill them. He will kill them. He probably has killed them. Oh gods, why are Gryffindors such dolts sometimes?"
Ginny looked slightly taken aback. Blaise seemed to notice the offence she committed and looked to Ginny apologetically. "Sorry. Wait, why aren't you with them? I thought you would follow your little boyfriend everywhere."
Ginny shrugged. "They wouldn't let me. I tried, but they told me it was too dangerous. So I just kind of went to think for awhile, then I remembered that you and Draco were good friends, so. . ." Blaise interrupted Ginny.
"Wait, how did you know about Draco and I? Not even everyone in Slytherin knows about us. How would you know?"
Ginny gave an embarrassed smile as she answered her. "Well, we. . .Harry, Ron, and I, sort of overheard a conversation between you and Pansy."
Blaise snorted at Pansy's name. "I cannot believe she did Draco in like that. She is such an idiot. I swear, if I didn't know that her mother loves her, I would kill her." She glanced over to Ginny and smirked slightly. "So. . .what do you need my help with?"
Ginny took a breath. "I need you to go with me to the Malfoy Manor."
Blaise looked at Ginny as if she were crass. "Are you serious?" Ginny nodded. Blaise looked down at her hands for a moment, then looked back up at Ginny. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."
Ginny's normally pale complexion turned bright red, and it wasn't from embarrassment. "Why not?" she asked crossing her arms.
Blaise looked slightly shocked at Ginny's response, but nevertheless answered her. "Because. It's too dangerous."
Ginny couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Blaise, my brother, my boyfriend, and my best friend are all in that house, along with your best friend! Now, I don't care if you're too scared of Lucius Malfoy, because you're coming with me regardless!"
Blaise backed away from Ginny. Now she knew just what they meant by Gryffindor courage. It was something that could make a normally quiet and collected person a raging beast, and she definitely did not want to argue with a beast at that moment.
"Fine, but you must do as I say. You have no idea what we may find when we get there. Understand?" Blaise demanded.
Ginny smiled and saluted Blaise. "Yes ma'am."
Blaise smiled in spite of herself. She could get used to this kid. If they lived long enough, that is.
~*~
The two stood in front of the fireplace in the Slytherin common room twenty minutes later. They had to get some things from Blaise's dorm before they headed off.
"You ready?" Blaise asked quietly. Ginny nodded quickly. "Alright then," came Blaise's short response.
Stepping into the fireplace Blaise called out, "Malfoy Manor!" and was soon out of sight. Ginny followed seconds later. Ginny found Blaise brushing off her clothes as she stepped out of the fireplace.
She looked around at the dark blue and silver room. "Whose room are we in?" Ginny asked.
Blaise surveyed the room quickly. "Draco's."
Ginny nodded her head in acknowledgement to Blaise's response and wandered to the door. She had almost turned the handle when Blaise pulled her hand back. "Wait. There could be someone out there." She whispered.
Ginny watched as Blaise pulled something from her robes that looked something like a compact mirror and held it up to the door. Nothing happened at first, but then Ginny noticed a blurry hole appearing from under the mirror. Blaise peered into it and turned her head slightly as if she were trying to look further down the hall.
"No one's there. Come on." Blaise said as she tugged Ginny out of the room by her robes.
~*~
Harry watched the grotesque action of regurgitation that Draco had unfortunately been reduced to. Draco was still on his knees, covered in the blood of his father and himself. He was pale, even more so than usual, and tiny droplets of sweat beaded through his hair and down his face, dripping silently in a dollop on the floor. He fell to the wall, his back connecting with it gently and he wiped away at his forehead with the sleeve of his robes. Tears were still making their streams down his face, but he paid them no heed.
Harry left from beside the door to the cell Hermione was cooped up in reluctantly and sat rather uneasily next to Draco at the wall. He had no idea what to say to him. What do you say to someone after such an event? Finally, he let out a breath.
"Thank you."
Draco looked a little shocked. "For what?"
Harry shrugged. "Everything. . .I guess. You saved my life. You saved Hermione's life. You were there for her. You helped her."
Draco looked up venomously. "Well it wasn't like you were doing anything for her. For the past two months all you've been able to do is snog with Weaslette. You didn't even realize anything was wrong, Potter. Do you know how horrible she felt about that? And even worse, the only help she was getting was coming from me. Her biggest enemy. It should have come from her best friend, Potter, not me."
Harry nodded. "I know. But she loves you now."
Draco scoffed. "Yeah and look where that has gotten her. Shut up in a cell, being raped and beaten. She doesn't deserve that. No one deserves that. And the bastard actually made me watch him do it." He said gritting his teeth together and standing.
Harry stood up after him and followed him to Hermione's cell. A faint breathing came from the other side. He approached it slowly and mumbled an inaudible spell to unlock the door. There was a loud click and the door swung open brashly, giving Draco only a second to get out of the way.
Hermione lay in a crumpled heap, dirty, naked, and still unconscious. Draco rubbed his eyes. "I mean look at her, Potter. Look what happened to her because she loved me. This is what happens. That's why I don't let people close, Potter. That's why I am the way I am. But then she came. And I threw away everything for her, and all she gets is this. The first girl I fall in love with. . .the only girl I ever will fall in love with. . .gets this treatment. I can't take it." Draco rubbed at his eyes a bit more, pushing in the unshed tears.
Harry watched dolefully as Draco took off his cloak and covered her body with it. He couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy had just opened up to him, his nemesis. He found that he respected the guy now. In a matter of twenty-four hours, he had gone from hating the guy to admiring him. "Draco. . .Hermione deserves you. You deserve her. Trust me."
Draco gave him a tiny smile and looked over to his father loathingly. Harry noticed the glance.
"How did you learn how to do that?" he asked.
Draco looked slightly confused. "Do what?"
Harry continued. "How did you learn how to throw a knife like that. I mean, you unleashed that perfectly. That couldn't have been luck. It was too perfect."
Draco shrugged a little. "My cousin taught me a few years ago. He tried to put me in a knife-throwing competition because I got so good. I declined though. My father used to bring me down here a couple of years ago and he would cut me with that dagger on my lower back and my legs. I used his own torture devices to kill him. . ."
Harry looked towards Ron and felt the area behind his eyes begin to sting. 'It shouldn't have been Ron to die,' he thought to himself. 'He was there for Hermione. She needs him more than she needs me.' He felt the tears fall from his eyes for a second time that night. Draco didn't say a word. He only bent down to Hermione and caressed her face, easing her to wake up.
"Hermione. . .baby, wake up." He gently placed her hair behind her ear, stroking the smooth flesh on her face. "Wake up Hermione. It's over." Hermione shifted a little and her eyes slowly opened.
Everything seemed blurry at first, out of focus. As her vision came back steadily, she noticed blond hair and pale skin, a strong body, hovering over her. She sat up briskly, holding the cloak tightly to her and shrieked, sliding back to the wall in fear. "Get away from me!" she screamed, kicking at Draco.
"Hermione! It's me, it's Draco. Calm down, Hermione, it's only me." He reached in to pull her into a hug, but she recoiled from his touch. Tears flew to her eyes and she backed away even further. She obviously thought that Draco was Lucius.
Harry seemed to notice what was happening and walked into the cell with Draco. He kneeled down next to Hermione and scooped her into his arms. "Come on, Hermione. We need to get you to the infirmary." She nodded slightly, wrapping her arms around Harry's neck, clinging tightly.
"Harry. . ." came her soft whisper. "Where's Ron at?"
Harry swallowed hard and glanced at Hermione's face. "Where is he?" she repeated.
"I would like to know that as well." Everyone looked up in shock at the extra voice coming from the bottom of the stairs. "Ginny. . ." Harry confirmed, then looked towards Blaise, who stood with her. "Blaise."
"Harry? Where is he? Where's Ron at?" Ginny's voice trembled as she questioned him. Hermione looked into Harry's eyes, pleading with her own for the truth.
"Right here." Draco told everyone as he trudged around the corner carrying the limp form of Ron over his back. Ginny let out a small shriek as she saw her lifeless brother. Hermione gasped and buried her head in Harry's shoulder. Blaise lifted a hand to her mouth.
Ginny's eyes welled with tears as she ran over to where Draco had laid Ron down on his back. "Ron! Ronald Weasley, no. no you can't be dead. You can't do this to me, Ron! You can't leave me here! Ron. . ." she tugged at his shirt, shaking him in vain, hoping he was only asleep, ignoring the blood that had dried around his neck.
Draco mumbled from over by Blaise. "He isn't going to wake up Weasley." He said it gently, trying to tell her the truth simply. She looked at him, and the tears flowed from her eyes, tracing down her face in large streams, branching off from each other like tributaries and junctions, spilling from her face and soaking the material of Ron's shirt as she clutched onto him desperately, unwilling to let go.
Harry felt Hermione's entire body shake as she cried silently to herself, and he kissed the top of her head, and stroked her hair, as more tears fell from his own eyes, dropping heavily into Hermione's hair. He heard Hermione begin to speak.
"No. . .no. . .no. . .no. . ." she repeated it over and over, the one word, her entire body quaking with silent tears, and Draco and Blaise watched dejectedly from by the stairs, they were sitting and Blaise had her arms wrapped around Draco's shoulders as his body shook uncontrollably, every single emotion he had crashing together. He didn't cry though. He had cried too much.
Ginny let out a small whimper into the air, and Hermione had stopped crying, and was now instead looking off into oblivion, her eyes shrouded with an unknown barrier. Harry pulled her around a corner and sat her down, draping the cloak over her, and buttoning it up, then pulled her back into his arms again.
She clung to his neck tighter this time, and he felt her nails gripping into his back, and he wondered for a moment if she was reliving every event of the night she had, or if she was reliving every moment she and Ron had shared. And as she clenched onto him tighter, pulling at his robes, he knew that she was thinking of both.
He brought his mouth to her ear and whispered in it softly. "It's okay, Hermione. It will be okay. I promise." The only response he got from her was a brisk shake of her head, a look of fear in her eyes, and two arms tightening around his neck.
~*~
A/N: hi. Hope you like that chap. Only one more to go. Ack, I can't believe I'm almost done with my first fic. I hope you review. Make me happy and cheesy and maybe you'll get the last chapter faster. I love those reviews! Lol, keep them coming and I will love you forever. Wow. . .I'm almost done. That's so scary! I actually committed myself to something. Lol, whew. Ok, well, review please!
REVIEW!