Chapter 18

Harbinger of Peace

Harry slowly moved off of his broom, letting it fall to the ground tenderly as he did so. His broom was too expensive to be damaged in a fight. He turned back to Draco after a while and said: " Are you sure about this?"

" What? You want to go make a coffin?" Draco shouted.

" No! Why don't you bring your own coffin!"

Draco smirked and then stepped forwards, his head cocked slightly to the side. With a very sure, sudden swing, he caught Harry's upper arm, making him turn sideways. Harry wasn't exactly a bad fighter, he picked up some good fighting stances and moves from video games that his Muggle cousin Dudley often played. Harry raised his arms, karate-style, in a block, and then slowly inched forwards. He looked ridiculous.

" What are you doing?" Draco dropped his arms down in exasperation. " You look stupid."

Harry punched him promptly in the stomach. Draco flinched but didn't cry out. It wasn't too bad; maybe he'd be able to breathe again tomorrow. With the wind knocked out of Draco, Harry saw a good opportunity to strike again – but not too hard; if he hurt Draco badly, he'd be expelled. Harry pushed Draco backwards, and Draco's foot landed in a ditch. His leg sank knee-deep into dark, thick mud.

" Aw, gross…" Draco murmured, trying to pull his leg out before Harry would strike again, and he succeeded. Harry miscalculated his push and ended up tripping face-down into the dirt. They were both horribly dirty now, like toddlers rolling around in a sandbox. Draco saw this as a good opportunity to plant a muddy footprint in the center of Harry's red Gryffindor robes.

" Hey! I just got those cleaned!" Harry grumbled, jerking upwards and then sending Draco into some hedges with a forceful shove. Draco pushed aside wayward branches, snapping some in two as he did, and then spun around to face his opponent again.

There was an adrenaline-fueled fury in both of them; neither thought this was necessary; both found it exhilarating.

The clouds above had gathered in a mean-looking jumble of thunderclouds, and Harry didn't like what they foretold. He paused his fist midair to look up into the sky just as a thunderclap rattled the air, vibrating the windows of Hogwarts castle. Then, the sky seemed to be torn apart as a torrent of rain sailed downwards onto the parched Hogwarts grounds. Harry could barely see Draco through the haze of rain.

" Seems like a rip in the sky – is that what they call it?" Draco asked, suddenly. A human look seemed to appear on his face, and Harry admitted inside of himself that this humane look almost surprised him.

" Doesn't matter now." Harry wiped at the mud that had coated his shoes. " Want to go inside?"

" So you're wimping out?" Draco rolled his eyes. " Good old Potter. Reliable in every way but a fight. Go ahead, walk away then. See if I stop you."

Harry felt his face turn hot in anger. " It's stupid to fight in the rain. We could really …"

" Get hurt." Draco finished. " Go back then. Don't forget your little red wagon and lollipops, alright?" He made a rude gesture with his hands and then turned away, slipping his hands gently into his pockets in a waiting stance. He seemed to be unafraid of Harry under all circumstances. Turning his back to an opponent in a fight could be taken as a stupid thing to do or as a large insult to the opponent.

The blow that came to his back sent him forwards face-first into the mud. He stopped his face a hair's width away from the puddle and then turned to face Harry again. He pushed himself up so he was kneeling and said: " How likely of you to strike only when I turn my back. Dishonorable, Potter. Even the Dark Lord doesn't strike from the back." Draco's eyes flashed when he saw he'd struck a spark inside of Harry. " … Your parents would know, wouldn't they?"

The insults had turned cruel. Harry felt his fists ball up in rage. " Malfoy, I'm warning you, stay back!"

Draco stood up, completely coated in mud. He smirked and replied: " What could you possibly do to me?" He swung outwards and then grasped Harry's sleeve. Tugging it upwards sharply, he got Harry's arm out of the way so that he could land a blow to Harry's stomach.

Harry's knees buckled for a second but he stood strong.

The soft hum of rain was growing quieter in Draco's ears. He shouted: " What? You're afraid to hit me back now?"

Harry frowned. " Are you alright?"

Draco was swaying on his feet. The rain was soaking him, his hair was a disarray, plastered down on his forehead. His eyes were wild, almost feverish, and his face had gone from pale ivory to a waxy white. He shook his head: " Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" He felt his stomach growl.

The truth was, Draco hadn't eaten in a few days. He drank water, of course, but he couldn't stomach anything down. He was worried and tense and irritable, even Goyle and Crabbe noticed his worse-than-normal foul mood.

" We should go inside." Harry looked worried.

Suddenly, a loud pitter-patter echoed behind them. Someone was running furiously towards them, splashing water in all directions. In fact, there were two people. The first to appear through the thick rain to the fighting boys was Ginny. " See, Hermione, what did I tell you? Fighting!" Ginny said, aloud, her freckled cheeks growing red with a blush at the sight of a heroic Harry, standing in a powerful stance.

Hermione emerged from behind her, frowning. " Harry… Draco… what do you think you're doing? Get inside. What am I, your mother?"

Draco's eyes softened, seeing her. He swayed again and then leaned against the Quidditch post, supporting himself with his weight. His eyes fluttered closed for a second.

Ginny turned to Harry. " I saw you guys fighting, before it began to rain. I got Hermione right away. I figured she'd be able to stop you both."

Harry bit his lower lip worriedly. " I'm sorry, Hermione. He - - he said some nasty things, and…"

Hermione turned to Draco. He was shaking his head. " You were the one who started, insulting my family's honor." He took a step forwards and raised his hand threateningly. " You won't get in my way, Potter, so long as I live, I won't let you stop me from what I deserve, and I know I…" He stopped. The ground seemed to rise up to meet with him. There was heavy thudding in his ears and the world was swaying, becoming washed away along with the torrents of rain streaming from the ground.

Before Hermione could jump forwards to catch him, Draco Malfoy had fallen.

*

" Eat up, now, young man." Madame Pomfrey forced the spoon filled with chicken soup into Draco's parted lips.

" I can feed myself, you know. I'm not crippled." He muttered, taking the bowl from her hands and then putting the spoon to his lips on his own.

" I know, I know, dear." She stood, then smiled fondly. " You've grown to be quite a young man from the last time I saw you in here."

" Well…" Draco sat up in the bed, crossing his legs Indian-style. "… my mother made me eat dinner. Even the vegetables."

She laughed.

Draco turned the charm up a notch. " That's a lovely shirt, madam."

" Alright, what do you want, you scoundrel?" She asked, laughing.

" Visitors. Erm, well, one visitor." He said.

" Who would that be?"

" A Hermione Granger, fifth year. She should be in Flitwick's class right about now." Draco said. He watched the expression on Madame Pomfrey's change from one of amusement to one of serious doubt.

" Now, you want to see Miss Granger?"

" Did I stutter?" He caught himself and then smiled sweetly. " Yes, Hermione Granger. Why, do you think she's mad at me?"

" No. In fact, she came up a few times, asking about you. I'm just surprised that you have a friendship between each other, that's all." She stood up and then straightened out some invisible wrinkles in her apron. " Well, I'll go fetch her right now. Any particular reasons to see her?"

" I want to tell her something." Draco replied. He reached over to the table to the side of his bed and then plucked a rose from the crystal vase. He spun it around between his fingers, smiling to himself.

Madame Pomfrey sighed. " Ah, to be young again." She slowly walked away.

*

Hermione stood beside Draco's bed, her brown eyes truly concerned. Draco was silent for a moment, unsure of how to begin. He glanced down at the rose, then pushed it towards her awkwardly. Hermione took it, then grinned, though she tried to hold the grin back.

" For you…" He mumbled. " I'm sorry. You were right."

She traced a single soft rose petal with her fingertip. " I feel at blame. I just… I'm afraid to choose."

" It's alright. I forfeit. I know what the truth is." He looked up to see her face. " I'm not exactly Prince Charming, right? I know, I do have a fever, but at least I'm up to being honest to you. And to myself." His stomach squeezed, this time not of hunger but of nervousness. " How do I say this…"

Hermione felt sudden warmth gathering in her ears.

" … I do like you, all right? I really do." His voice grew hoarse. He cleared his throat and continued: " Actually, you wouldn't believe how much I like you. That's why I'm going to call it quits. I don't want to hurt you anymore. No more fighting with…" He paused before he could say the name: " Potter."

A drop fell to Draco's hand. It stood on his index finger before slowly rolling down and sinking into the quilt. In his hurry to speak, he had stopped facing Hermione. Now he looked up to see large tears tumbling down her cheeks.

" Hey, look, I don't want to make you cry anymore either, okay? I just… I don't want to do it anymore." He shook his head. " I don't know if you understand or not, but… well… I hope you know this was really hard for me to say. Really." He twiddled his thumbs. " The coast is clear. You win, Harry Potter." He spoke the last four words very softly, looking downwards at his hands.

He looked up again. " I won't make the mistake my father did. I'm not going to pray for vengeance. I've learned my lesson. I'd rather die lonely then hurt you again." He brought his knees up and then put his forehead on his knees. He sat in that position for a while. Hermione shifted and the rose in her hands slipping so that it was tilted towards the floor. Odds and ends spilled from his mouth, unsaid words:

" I…"

" I'll miss you, Hermione."

" Really bad."

" When it gets cold sometimes in your life, you're supposed to make it warmer for others, and yours will warm up as well. Someone said that once. I… I'm making it warmer for you."

" So…"

" Don't feel bad."

" I'll always like you. From afar, maybe. I won't tell anyone, either, but…"

" I'll always be there."

He didn't look up again. Malfoy men don't cry. If someone sees you cry, you're a dead man. Draco waited to hear Hermione's response.

He felt her hands wrap around him, her head lean against his forehead. She kissed his cheek for his face was unavailable for her adoration at the moment. She sat down beside him on the bed and just hugged him.

Don't make this any harder for me. Draco thought, ordering her to leave in his mind.

Instead, he felt a faint whisper in his ear: " … I knew it. That just proved it. I… I know I like you too. I like you as a woman does a man." She closed her eyes and her eyelashes tickled him. " … that was the most sincere, sweet, honest thing I've ever heard a boy say."

Draco scoffed. " You mean it?"

" I mean it."

He looked up, his eyes glossy. " What about Potter?"

" I love him, but like a brother. He always was a brother to me, a wonderful one at that. We're just far too close and alike. It would be boring." She laughed. When he kissed me, it simply felt safe and warm, but when you kiss me, I knew it, right then. That risky feeling, that excited feeling… that was love. Hermione added, in her mind.

Then, she kissed him again, just like he kissed her once, not so long ago, just to see if she was right.

I was right. She thought, in the middle of it. And I think I finally made the right choice.

*

Author's Note:

I dunno. Should I be apologizing? This is officially the end, people, which means T=H=E E=N=D. No mas! Zero! Zip! No dinero. ~_~ Don't ask.

Well, sorry, H/Hr people. Something inside of me changed. I saw a glorious, perfect Hr/D ending, and this fic was so perfect for it. That, and I got a total of 18 emails from various readers begging me to make it so, or they'll kill me in numerous creative ways.

Now, shameless self-advertising: I HAVE LOTS OF OTHER H/HR FICS! AND AN Hr/D FIC THAT IS IN THE MAKING! OH YEAH! I'm so special! Hey, if you are sad about the ending, here is a epilogue… I think that is what they call it…

Ginny and Harry got together.

Hermione and Draco lived happily ever after, too.

Ron seemed oddly interested in Lavender Brown.

But that's another story.

"And that was that." – someone.
" If your life is cold, make other's lives warmer, and yours will warm up as well." – Draco Malfoy (quote made up my me… YAY!)
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