Until My Dying Day
By Roni Black
Chapter Twelve
During the two weeks left before the wedding, Draco and Hermione were extremely busy. They had to look for a wedding dress for Hermione and a tuxedo for Draco. They had to visit the place of the wedding and see that everything was OK.
When the big day arrived, it was a perfect day for a wedding. It was a clear morning; the sky was pure blue, the flowers were blossoming, the birds singing... just like in fairytales. The guests arrived; no one was missing.
"Oh my Godness, Hermione, you're so beautiful!" cried Mrs. Weasley excitedly.
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," smiled Hermione.
All the women teachers came to hug Hermione and Draco; the men teachers shook their hands and congratulated them warmly.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione squeaked as he arrived, with a big smile on his face; she ran and hugged him. He seemed a bit surprised, but hugged her back.
"HERMIONE!" Lavender and Parvati arrived, and they jumped on Hermione with hugs and kisses. Then the Weasleys drew closer to congratulate the couple. The last to arrive were Harry, Jessica and Hannah: they hugged Hermione and went to sit.
"Is everybody here?" the priest asked Draco.
"I think so," said Draco, searching with his eyes. "Yes, all here."
"So let the holly ceremony begin!" cried the priest and went to the small island. Draco followed him. Hermione and her father stood near the lake, waiting for the music to begin.
As the music began and everybody fell quiet, Hermione crossed arms with her father and together they stepped to the small ground passage leading to the island. Hermione looked at Draco and smiled excitedly; he smiled back. Then they arrived at the island, where Draco and the priest were waiting, and Hermione's father kissed her and went back to sit with the guests around the lake and watch.
The ceremony passed quickly; Hermione and Draco had asked the priest not to make it too long. They weren't very patient, and they couldn't wait long to finally be married.
When the priest said "I now pronounce you husband and wife," the whole crowd clapped, and Hermione and Draco wrapped their arms around each other and kissed. Hermione could hear a few women sobbing; she opened her eyes to see her mother, Mrs. Weasley, Lavender, and - to her surprise - Professor McGonagall.
The priest stood and watched the young couple with a big smile on his face. Then he gave a signal with his wand - and suddenly, a new song began. It was their song. Come What May.
Hermione looked at Draco with surprise, and Draco smiled at her as he kissed her on the lips: "I asked him to." Then he took her hand. Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as they began to dance. Soon, the guests were dancing, too.
Draco sang softly into Hermione's ear...
Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings
Telling me to give you everything?
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Hermione smiled and began to sing into his ear:
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you
And together they sang:
And there's no mountain too high
No river to wide
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather and storms may collide
But I love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Nobody felt the danger.
Nobody knew that the smiles and the dancing weren't going to last long.
Nobody guessed how tragic this day was going to be.
For as the bars faded, and Draco and Hermione kissed again and murmured "I love you", it happened.
A head of a huge snake suddenly burst out of the water. It made such a loud noise of spraying water, that everybody noticed and jumped.
The snake's head was very close to the ground on which Draco and Hermione were standing. Hermione squealed; Draco pulled her away from the snake.
"Oh my God!" they could hear screams and shouts from around them.
It all happened so fast.
The snake suddenly turned into a woman. A wild-looking woman, with long, black hair, huge black eyes and the most evil smile Hermione had ever seen. The guests screamed. The woman stayed in the water and smiled wickedly at the couple.
Hermione heard Draco gasp next to her. "B-Bellatrix?!" he choked.
"Yes, Draco, it's me," said the woman in a low voice, staring at the couple from the water. "I've come for you. But don't worry. I won't kill you."
"What - what - "
"I am not going to kill you," Bellatrix repeated. "I don't want you DEAD, you see, Draco? All I want is to hurt you. And I want to hurt you bad."
"Wh-why?" Draco stammered.
"Because you betrayed your father and shamed the name of the Malfoys. Because you are like my poor sister: weak and stupid. Because you are one of the reasons the Dark Lord is now dead."
"You're crazy," said Draco and caught Hermione's hand. "Crazy!"
Hermione looked around. Wasn't anybody going to help? But nobody seemed to recognize Bellatrix; they were too far away from them. Even Dumbledore didn't seem to understand what was really going on.
"Yes, I am," said Bellatrix. "But I am not going to suffer from the fact that I'm crazu. YOU are."
"What do you mean?" said Draco firmly.
"You'll see," Bellatrix hissed.
In a second, the human head was gone, and a beastly head appeared instead. The snake raised part of its body out of the water. Draco heard terrified screams from the guests. Then he saw a green light: Dumbledore tried to curse the snake.
But the snake was too quick. It moved so fast, no one saw exactly how it happened. Draco only knew that one second, Hermione was standing next to him, holding his hand. The next second, she was lying on the ground, twitching and wailing fearfully, as the snake began to wrap itself around her neck.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted Draco and threw himself forward.
Draco struggled the snake and tried to separate it from Hermione, but it was pointless just like trying to lift a house on his own. Hermione twitched, her eyes wide open with fright, but it was just as useless. Draco couldn't believe the size of this snake: it was at least twenty feet long and was as wide as Draco's shoulders.
Then the snake raised its ugly head and hissed; Draco looked at the same direction to see Dumbledore raise his wand again, walking determinedly towards them.
The snake didn't waste time. It stuck its fangs deep into Hermione's neck. Its fangs wasn't poisonous - the Anaconda is not a poisonous snake - but the teeth were so sharp...
Hermione was still twitching with pain as Dumbledore shouted "AVADA KEDAVRA!" and pointed his wand at the snake; the snake's movements stopped immediately as it dropped, lifeless, on the ground. Draco and Dumbledore moved it from Hermione's body and threw it in the water.
Hermione tried to say something, but it was difficult beyond belief: the pain was too strong. There was blood everywhere. She couldn't help but keep twitching as Draco leaned over her, his eyes filled with tears.
"Hermione," he murmured. "Hermione... please... don't - don't die..."
And Hermione wanted to stay alive, if only for him; oh, how she wanted! But the pain was unbelievable. She could still hear screams and shouts in the crowd; but she could only see Draco's blue eyes, and this sight was beginning to be blurred, too...
She was sinking, sinking deeply...
She forced herself to stay. Tell him, said a voice inside her head. Tell him now... before it's too late...
"Draco..." she whispered. She felt his hand fastening its grip upon her own hand; but she couldn't hold him back. She was too weak.
"Draco," she whispered again, and saw his beautiful face coming closer to her own face.
"I love you," she murmured, so softly, Draco almost couldn't hear her.
But he did hear. He tried to smile even though his eyes were tearing. "I love you too, Hermione, so much..."
"I love you," she murmured again, "I always will... love you... so much..."
And as she saw Draco smiling weakly, she let herself sink... sink... sink...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"HERMIONE!"
She was gone.
Draco leaned over her, shaking her shoulders, crying, begging for her to come back; her blood dripped on his hands, but he didn't care. She can't die! It's impossible! She was alive just a few seconds ago!
"Hermione, please," he begged, his tears streaming on his face, "please, don't leave me, don't leave me now, Hermione..."
But Hermione was gone.
Many people were now rushing towards them, all shouting and screaming and waving their arms frantically. Draco couldn't even hear them. He couldn't feel anything but the enormous pain growing inside him.
"Hermione, what am I without you?" he sobbed, still not letting go of her body. "Hermione, please..." he continued to beg, but he knew it was useless.
She was dead.
And as Draco raised his eyes to the people who were coming towards him, he remembered: Hermione had promised to love him until her dying day... just as she sang to him...
Come what may, come what may
I will love you until my dying day...
And she did.
THE END.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
By Roni Black
Chapter Twelve
During the two weeks left before the wedding, Draco and Hermione were extremely busy. They had to look for a wedding dress for Hermione and a tuxedo for Draco. They had to visit the place of the wedding and see that everything was OK.
When the big day arrived, it was a perfect day for a wedding. It was a clear morning; the sky was pure blue, the flowers were blossoming, the birds singing... just like in fairytales. The guests arrived; no one was missing.
"Oh my Godness, Hermione, you're so beautiful!" cried Mrs. Weasley excitedly.
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," smiled Hermione.
All the women teachers came to hug Hermione and Draco; the men teachers shook their hands and congratulated them warmly.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione squeaked as he arrived, with a big smile on his face; she ran and hugged him. He seemed a bit surprised, but hugged her back.
"HERMIONE!" Lavender and Parvati arrived, and they jumped on Hermione with hugs and kisses. Then the Weasleys drew closer to congratulate the couple. The last to arrive were Harry, Jessica and Hannah: they hugged Hermione and went to sit.
"Is everybody here?" the priest asked Draco.
"I think so," said Draco, searching with his eyes. "Yes, all here."
"So let the holly ceremony begin!" cried the priest and went to the small island. Draco followed him. Hermione and her father stood near the lake, waiting for the music to begin.
As the music began and everybody fell quiet, Hermione crossed arms with her father and together they stepped to the small ground passage leading to the island. Hermione looked at Draco and smiled excitedly; he smiled back. Then they arrived at the island, where Draco and the priest were waiting, and Hermione's father kissed her and went back to sit with the guests around the lake and watch.
The ceremony passed quickly; Hermione and Draco had asked the priest not to make it too long. They weren't very patient, and they couldn't wait long to finally be married.
When the priest said "I now pronounce you husband and wife," the whole crowd clapped, and Hermione and Draco wrapped their arms around each other and kissed. Hermione could hear a few women sobbing; she opened her eyes to see her mother, Mrs. Weasley, Lavender, and - to her surprise - Professor McGonagall.
The priest stood and watched the young couple with a big smile on his face. Then he gave a signal with his wand - and suddenly, a new song began. It was their song. Come What May.
Hermione looked at Draco with surprise, and Draco smiled at her as he kissed her on the lips: "I asked him to." Then he took her hand. Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as they began to dance. Soon, the guests were dancing, too.
Draco sang softly into Hermione's ear...
Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings
Telling me to give you everything?
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Hermione smiled and began to sing into his ear:
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you
And together they sang:
And there's no mountain too high
No river to wide
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather and storms may collide
But I love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Nobody felt the danger.
Nobody knew that the smiles and the dancing weren't going to last long.
Nobody guessed how tragic this day was going to be.
For as the bars faded, and Draco and Hermione kissed again and murmured "I love you", it happened.
A head of a huge snake suddenly burst out of the water. It made such a loud noise of spraying water, that everybody noticed and jumped.
The snake's head was very close to the ground on which Draco and Hermione were standing. Hermione squealed; Draco pulled her away from the snake.
"Oh my God!" they could hear screams and shouts from around them.
It all happened so fast.
The snake suddenly turned into a woman. A wild-looking woman, with long, black hair, huge black eyes and the most evil smile Hermione had ever seen. The guests screamed. The woman stayed in the water and smiled wickedly at the couple.
Hermione heard Draco gasp next to her. "B-Bellatrix?!" he choked.
"Yes, Draco, it's me," said the woman in a low voice, staring at the couple from the water. "I've come for you. But don't worry. I won't kill you."
"What - what - "
"I am not going to kill you," Bellatrix repeated. "I don't want you DEAD, you see, Draco? All I want is to hurt you. And I want to hurt you bad."
"Wh-why?" Draco stammered.
"Because you betrayed your father and shamed the name of the Malfoys. Because you are like my poor sister: weak and stupid. Because you are one of the reasons the Dark Lord is now dead."
"You're crazy," said Draco and caught Hermione's hand. "Crazy!"
Hermione looked around. Wasn't anybody going to help? But nobody seemed to recognize Bellatrix; they were too far away from them. Even Dumbledore didn't seem to understand what was really going on.
"Yes, I am," said Bellatrix. "But I am not going to suffer from the fact that I'm crazu. YOU are."
"What do you mean?" said Draco firmly.
"You'll see," Bellatrix hissed.
In a second, the human head was gone, and a beastly head appeared instead. The snake raised part of its body out of the water. Draco heard terrified screams from the guests. Then he saw a green light: Dumbledore tried to curse the snake.
But the snake was too quick. It moved so fast, no one saw exactly how it happened. Draco only knew that one second, Hermione was standing next to him, holding his hand. The next second, she was lying on the ground, twitching and wailing fearfully, as the snake began to wrap itself around her neck.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shouted Draco and threw himself forward.
Draco struggled the snake and tried to separate it from Hermione, but it was pointless just like trying to lift a house on his own. Hermione twitched, her eyes wide open with fright, but it was just as useless. Draco couldn't believe the size of this snake: it was at least twenty feet long and was as wide as Draco's shoulders.
Then the snake raised its ugly head and hissed; Draco looked at the same direction to see Dumbledore raise his wand again, walking determinedly towards them.
The snake didn't waste time. It stuck its fangs deep into Hermione's neck. Its fangs wasn't poisonous - the Anaconda is not a poisonous snake - but the teeth were so sharp...
Hermione was still twitching with pain as Dumbledore shouted "AVADA KEDAVRA!" and pointed his wand at the snake; the snake's movements stopped immediately as it dropped, lifeless, on the ground. Draco and Dumbledore moved it from Hermione's body and threw it in the water.
Hermione tried to say something, but it was difficult beyond belief: the pain was too strong. There was blood everywhere. She couldn't help but keep twitching as Draco leaned over her, his eyes filled with tears.
"Hermione," he murmured. "Hermione... please... don't - don't die..."
And Hermione wanted to stay alive, if only for him; oh, how she wanted! But the pain was unbelievable. She could still hear screams and shouts in the crowd; but she could only see Draco's blue eyes, and this sight was beginning to be blurred, too...
She was sinking, sinking deeply...
She forced herself to stay. Tell him, said a voice inside her head. Tell him now... before it's too late...
"Draco..." she whispered. She felt his hand fastening its grip upon her own hand; but she couldn't hold him back. She was too weak.
"Draco," she whispered again, and saw his beautiful face coming closer to her own face.
"I love you," she murmured, so softly, Draco almost couldn't hear her.
But he did hear. He tried to smile even though his eyes were tearing. "I love you too, Hermione, so much..."
"I love you," she murmured again, "I always will... love you... so much..."
And as she saw Draco smiling weakly, she let herself sink... sink... sink...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"HERMIONE!"
She was gone.
Draco leaned over her, shaking her shoulders, crying, begging for her to come back; her blood dripped on his hands, but he didn't care. She can't die! It's impossible! She was alive just a few seconds ago!
"Hermione, please," he begged, his tears streaming on his face, "please, don't leave me, don't leave me now, Hermione..."
But Hermione was gone.
Many people were now rushing towards them, all shouting and screaming and waving their arms frantically. Draco couldn't even hear them. He couldn't feel anything but the enormous pain growing inside him.
"Hermione, what am I without you?" he sobbed, still not letting go of her body. "Hermione, please..." he continued to beg, but he knew it was useless.
She was dead.
And as Draco raised his eyes to the people who were coming towards him, he remembered: Hermione had promised to love him until her dying day... just as she sang to him...
Come what may, come what may
I will love you until my dying day...
And she did.
THE END.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*