Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to good ol' J.K Rowling
A/N: sorry I took so long to update. I apologize a million times. The story is now coming to an end. There about four or five more chapters left including an epilogue. Thank you for reading and reviewing and keep reading because it gets really dramatic in these next few chapters. Anyway…on with the story.
Chapter 21: Careless Whisper
Hermione was struggling to reach the surface of the thick red liquid that obscured her vision. She opened her mouth trying desperately to inhale much needed oxygen but instead swallowed a mouthful of the blood she was drowning in.
Finally gaining enough strength to swim, Hermione paddled to the top and broke the surface of the liquid. Upon opening her eyes, she saw that instead of being in a sea of blood she was now in a bath tub of warm water.
It was late and naturally in a tub of hot water one tends to nod off into a pleasant dream state. However for Hermione it was anything but pleasant. She had slipped underneath the thick vanilla scented suds and into a horribly realistic dream.
Breathing heavily and shaking, Hermione sat up and drained the tub. She turned on the shower head to wash away the last bits of soap on her body. Hermione spent the next few minutes under the shower head washing her hair. As she massaged her head full of shampoo she felt a dull ache in her abdominal area. Minutes passed and she ignored this growing ache until it intensified. The sudden sharp pain sent her into momentary shock. Suddenly the water seemed to sting more than ever.
With her eyes shut tight in pain, Hermione sank to tub floor and let the water splash down on her back as she waited for the pain to subside. The longer she waited the more the pain intensified until finally she found relief. Gaining the strength to stand up again, Hermione stood up and let the cold water rush down on her head.
Looking at the porcelain floor of the shower she noticed that streaks of red liquid slithered down the drain. She chose to ignore the red substance until the bathwater began to turn a deep blood red. The flow was escalating. Hermione stepped back away from the shower head, only to find that it was still pouring cold, clear water. As she stepped back slowly a trail of red followed her.
She looked at her thigh and realized that was the source. The deep gash where she once ran a razor through was open again and pouring heavily. The cut was deep and as fresh as the day she first cut herself there. Hermione began to tremble as though she was having a seizure. The sight of the blood made her dizzy and her vision slowly dimmed. Struggling to stay standing, Hermione gripped the shower curtain but the shower curtain tore, not able to hold her weight any longer. She slipped to the bath tub bottom as smoothly as the blood traveled down the drain.
Lying face down in the tub she let the blood flow, not able to help herself. As she lay there she felt the taste of blood enter her mouth. Looking at her wrist she saw that all those gashes were opening up and letting blood out. "Is this even possible?" Hermione thought to herself simply because she did not have the strength to verbalize it. "How can this happen?"
She could do nothing but let her self die from the loss of blood. Hermione lay on her stomach letting the harsh reality of the situation sink in. It was her time to be taken away somewhere where she would find some comfort, even if it was minimal. "Let it be over" She verbalized in her mind.
Hermione turned on her back to face the pounding drops coming from the shower head. She thought to her self, smiling "I'm ready. At least I'll find some comfort away from here." Before she slipped into the black abyss of death and nothingness, she looked up into the face of a cold hearted Draco. He stood over her watching as she died but Hermione chose to let that go. She would rather die ignorant to the fact that she was betrayed.
The library was unusually quite, at least for Draco who now sat there, alone. The stillness in the room would trouble others but for Draco he found it comforting. Originally he had skipped dinner to catch up on some studying for his upcoming N.E.W.T's. The past weeks had proved to be very eventful ones and there was simply no time. However there was never any doubt that Draco was not prepared for the N.E.W.T.'s. That was the least of his troubles.
It was the journey to an almost impossible escape that he was worried about. Draco idly ran his finger down the spine of his potion's text book, slowly drifting away from the library. The scenery filled with shelves of books dimmed as he thought about what had put him in this situation.
In the dark he could sense her restlessness. The comforter they shared rustled every so often, indicating that she was stirring slightly. Their naked bodies were pressed together underneath the cotton comforter and he could feel the uneasy rising and falling of her chest against his. Every now and then her breathing would quicken and he could feel her balling her fist at his sides. Yes, Hermione was very restless, as well as Draco.
Draco, who was drifting between sleep and being awake, brought his hand to Hermione's face and lifted her head off his chest so that they could see eye to eye.
"What's wrong?" She asked him, cocking an eye brow. Even in the faint moonlight that lit the room he could identify every part of her face. Although it was dark, it was not hard for his hands to find her curves underneath the layers of clothing.
"I should be asking you the same?" Draco responded. Hermione remained quiet but then detached herself from Draco, rolling over to the other side of the bed. Hermione curled herself up into a ball and pulled the comforter up to her neck, still keeping her back turned to Draco. He followed her with his eyes and silently questioned her actions.
"Seven years ago," Draco began after a while. He was starring up at the ceiling or almost right through it because Draco was sure he was seeing more than just a wall. Scenes flew across the ceiling as if playing back a movie of his lifetime. It was the lack of sleep causing this.
"If anyone had asked me how well I know Hermione Granger I would have responded 'I only know her as my enemy.'" Draco finished, thinking back on his earlier years at Hogwarts.
"It's funny how time can change things." Hermione responded. Her voice was soft as though she was drifting in and out of sleep as well.
"It took me that long to finally gain respect for you, not only as a human being but as a woman. I've always been thought to look down on women." he felt ashamed saying that because over the past few months she had proven him wrong in many ways.
"Now I find that impossible to do." Draco sighed sounding defeated. Admitting he was wrong was the hardest part of all for Draco.
Hermione slid back over to Draco's side of the bed and placed her head in the crook of his neck. "That respect amounts to more than I can ever be grateful for." She whispered in his ear. Hermione placed her hand on his chest and inhaled slightly from the naked interaction.
"You're not a mud blood anymore, you're an individual and I love you for it." Draco said, feeling the need to embrace her. The closeness was overwhelming Draco: her scent, the feel of her soft skin against his. He'd do anything to have that every night. It was nothing sexual…just comfort.
Somehow Draco's lips had found hers. And Hermione responded accordingly making Draco feel incredibly light. It was a feeling that no other woman could provide.
"For that I'm thankful for on your behalf. I would rather you spend a lifetime of waiting to find a love like our own and eventually being rewarded, than to have you die young and never experience what we have." Hermione had started out with a strong defiant voice which diminished into a whisper as she let her self sink into Draco.
"I could die tomorrow and have no regrets." Draco honestly stated revealing something hidden in the depths of him. Hermione had an uncanny ability to reveal a different Draco Malfoy. She revealed a man who was living his life as someone else for a long time. Draco was tired of being that someone else.
"We've come a long way." Hermione said.
"I agree." Draco responded while holding her gaze. Honey brown eyes started back at him from the opposite side of the bed. Those brown eyes that showed more than one should reveal. He found them comforting, unlike his steely gray's that stared back at him every time he looked in the mirror.
"There is no turning back, Right?" Hermione looked up at Draco with eyes that showed as much fatigue as hope. That was the difference between himself and Hermione; she always looked ahead and saw the best to come. He looked ahead in life and felt dread. It was his path in life that he feared.
A heavy silence filled the room. In this time, Draco spiraled into a long period of confusion. Ideas raced through his head faster than he could handle.
"Right?" Hermione questioned again rubbing her nose against his cheek. It was at this moment that all else in Draco's mind seemed to freeze and one solitary idea seemed to take over. He knew what he must do. It was not like himself to make decisions based on strong emotions, but then again he had never felt any strong emotion other than hate for most of his life. His mother was right; love for someone could make you do rash things, things that only make sense to blind lovers.
"Right." Draco finalized.
It was that night that Draco made his decision. He had a long life to live and he was very keen on spending it with Hermione, not with the Dark Lord and his minions. He had decided that he had to save himself and Hermione. There was only one way out.
A hot red flash of light that came from the opposing wand blasted Draco across the dungeon of the Malfoy Manor. That opposing wand belonged to none other than, Lucius Malfoy himself. Draco hit the brick wall, cracking something in the process. With little breath left in his body, Draco slid down the grimy wall and onto the dirt infested dungeon floor. Lucius approached Draco with a smile on his face. He had many reasons to smile, now that his son had just proven to him how useful he would be.
"You're strong…very strong." Lucius began. It took me a good hour to finally break you and I was using the most powerful Dark Magic I could muster." He congratulated Draco on his achievement like any good father should. Lucius was immensely proud. He could not help it.
"Yeah, well that took years of experience." Draco spat, hacking up some blood in the process. He sat up and leaned his back and head against the wall and rested his hands on his raised knee. Taking slow deep breaths Draco tried to redeem himself. He could not risk sneaking back into Hogwarts bloodied up. He did not know who he would meet on his way in.
"Get up!" Lucius ordered his son, while looking down on him from where he stood. Like an obedient child, Draco stood up wiping the blood that poured from his nostrils. Lucius tossed Draco his black oxford shirt. It was the perfect color to hide all the bloodstains on his chest.
"Operations are moving quickly and smoothly as planned." Lucius said as he slowly paced back and forth. "Soon we will be able to give Dumbledore what he's been waiting for. After the new ones come in, then we can launch our attacks." Lucius spoke as sharp and precise as a war general would passionately describe his new plans for a battle. Silently, Draco listened to his father ramble on. This was the beginning of one of many pep talks from his new ally.
"Soon enough my son, you will see that all we have can be yours" his tone softened and a heartfelt smile spread across his face. This was not Lucius Malfoy, Draco began to think. He knew he was referring to the power, the death eater's operation, and the fear and power the Dark Lord possessed.
"And what better advice can I give than to tell you, take it and be greedy." Lucius finished. "Honestly, I'm glad you came to your senses, boy. I knew I was getting through to you."
"Don't take all the credit." Draco spat in a very harsh manner. In reality Draco did not feel much animosity towards his father. Simply he was feeling pity towards his father now because in the end of this all, he would not have any compassion left for the man. In the end Lucius would be able to say the same about his own son.
"Well then my boy, who should?" Lucius added.
"Definitely not you!" Finally meeting eye to eye with his father, Draco fired back.
"Nonsense." Lucius said in a somewhat drunken manner. He dismissed that idea as if it was impossible. "I trained you from the start."
"I was the one who willed my self. You had nothing to do with this decision." Draco said. Surely it was not Lucius who convinced him, it was Hermione who willed him. Acting as though he made the decision himself was all apart of a farce.
"My, My, Draco what a temper you have." Lucius said, smirking at his son. Draco was showing him things he needed to see. It was things he needed to confirm his decision. "Such firmness with others! You know, that is a great quality for a future leader."
"Naturally" Draco bit back his sneer and replaced it with a famous Malfoy grin to support his statement. He could see that Lucius was pleased with his performance and was on the brink of accepting his offer to join the Dark Lord.
Lucius walked around Draco, surveying him from head to foot. Coming directly in front of Draco, Lucius stood there, sneering at his son for a few minutes. This action Draco was confused by but his spirits were lifted when his fathers sneer broke into a smile.
"We can use men like you on the team." He said to his son extending his hand.
Smirking Draco answered "I'm one person and there are no others like me. Hell, I'm the only one that you need to run this operation." He finished and firmly grabbing his father's extended hand to confirm the deal. Draco had to keep reminding himself that it was just a farce.
The deal was done. He had to start training as soon as possible. It was even probable that he would be receiving some lessons from the Dark Lord himself. For over a month he had been going back and forth from school to meetings to training lessons. While doing this he had to keep it an ultimate secret from Hermione. Anyone else did not matter. Whatever happened, all this needed to be kept away from Hermione, for her sake.
Weary and eager for a rest, Draco ventured back to his dormitory. He undressed in his room and planned to sleep alone tonight. Hermione was already asleep and he did not want to wake her.
From his bed Draco could see a jet black eagle owl, swiftly flying towards his window with a piece of parchment attached to its beak. Draco slipped out of bed and opened the window for the eagle to come in. The eagle soared in through the forest green curtains that second and perched itself on Draco's bed head.
The letter that the eagle brought to Draco bared the message:
"Meet me in the ForbiddenForest.
Tonight at midnight.
Come alone"
The message was from his father and from his script; Draco could tell that he was eager for a late night meeting with Draco. Curious, Draco threw on his hooded cloak and rushed out of the common room as quietly as possible. In the tree tops he could see the faint outline of the death eater mark and followed it. The forest was quiet and eerie at night. As Draco walked through the forest he felt the eyes of those unwelcoming to humans watch him. Of Course the animals would not attack; they feared wizards with a wand at the ready.
In the forest clearing Draco could see Lucius standing there with his back turned to the opening. If Draco wanted to, he could have hexed Lucius on the spot, but that he would have to save for later.
"Lucius." Draco said approaching his father, who looked the least bit pleased with his greeting. Draco guessed he expected to hear "father" but the man was not worthy of the title.
"Draco." Lucius responded. A silence, in which the wind whistled in both their ears, lingered between the two men for a minute. They each held each others gaze. Heartless grey eyes that was identical to his own stared back at Draco. In the momentary lapse of silence, Draco seemed to drift off into a world of his own where guilt conquered his senses. Draco looked at Lucius and saw him self ten years into the future. It seemed like a fixed fate for him but he was determined not to become the man before him. No longer able to look at his father, he broke their eye contact by turning away.
"I'm glad you could make it." Lucius said, his tone sounding grim.
"It seemed urgent so I decided to take some time out of my busy schedule." Draco commented, while smirking. He had to keep his demeanor up. He had to convince Lucius that it was not a fake.
"I'm flattered" Lucius remarked dryly "However, I have some business to discuss with you."
"If it is business, then why are we discussing it here where there are wandering ears?" Draco said. He felt the need for secrecy, especially at this moment.
"This type of business is nothing related to our deal. Tonight I will provide you with some advice coming from a concerned father to his son." Lucius finished taking a few steps towards Draco. Draco scoffed at the idea of Lucius giving him advice.
"Hear me when I say this Draco, women can destroy." Lucius started, his tone sounding bitter. Draco stood before he father, dumfounded. "It would be ridiculous for you to let a woman into your life now, not when you've come this far." Lucius swiftly moved in on his son and spat the words in his face. They were leveled eye to eye and although anger began to prickle at Draco, he showed no emotion towards the statement.
"This is what you wanted to tell me?" Draco asked, slightly annoyed. "This is ridiculous. I'm going back to the castle. I do not need to be out here when I've got N.E.W.T's to study for" He finished and began to walk away from Lucius but stopped in mid stride.
"I'll be brief with you Draco." Lucius spat losing his patience. He stood rooted on the spot looking at his son walk away from him with narrowed eyes. "I know about the mudblood."
"What?" He said whipping around to face Lucius with narrowed eyes. He had completely been caught off guard.
"I'm disappointed Draco….again." Lucius remained calm as he let Draco build up his anger.
"Who told you? Who's your source……Parkinson?" Draco roared. He was forgetting about upholding his demeanor. Truthfully, right now he was not sure of how to handle his situation.
"How long have you known?" Draco asked after taking a minute to calm down.
"That's not important. Just be aware of the fact that I'm the only one who knows besides you and her."
"Bullshit! I bet you told whoever would listen."
"Draco I've been very patient with you….extremely patient." Lucius eyed Draco. "Get rid of her." Came his solitary statement. Draco felt his stomach plummet and a wave of disparity came over him.
"What for, she means nothing to me." Draco fired back. He tried his best to make his voice sound callous and cold as possible, but it was tinted with a hint of distress. Lucius had to at least believe Hermione meant nothing to him, although she did not.
"Well if that be the case it should not be difficult to get rid of her. If she's worthless then there are no strings attached." Draco felt his blood boil as Lucius openly insulted Hermione. If only he knew how wrong he was about her.
Lucius observed his son carefully. He was a stubborn boy and very unyielding at times. The boy was especially unyielding to the idea of having to give up his play toy. She obviously meant more to him than he claims. Draco was showing Lucius a weakness and now he knew exactly how to break the boy.
"Get rid of her before I do." Lucius said, walking away from Draco. Draco felt his breath get caught in his throat and words seemed to fail him. The only thing that was certain was how helpless he felt at the moment. Lucius was pulling him by his invisible puppet strings, making him yield to his commands like a child. The worst part about it was that Draco had to obey. He had to remind himself that was all for the best.
""Wait I can use her! She may be very useful, for tradition sake." Draco yelled after his father, trying to uphold the façade.
"How so, mud bloods like that are only useful for killing."
"Exactly" Draco said forcing a genuine Malfoy smirk on to his face. Lucius returned the gesture and advanced on Draco again.
"What are you saying boy!"
Just expect her to be at the initiation." Draco replied. Lucius smiled manically. His son had just proven him wrong again. Draco had cruel intentions for this girl and Lucius was ready to support him under any circumstances.
Before disappearing off the Hogwarts' grounds, Lucius turned to his son and said "Be very weary of those with wandering eyes and keen ears. These are the people that divulge information. News concerning you will not always reach me first. Next time it might reach the wrong person, someone with greater power and one who can do horrible things."
"Is that a threat?" Draco asked. He understood that Lucius was referring to Pansy and the other Slytherins. "It feels nice to know you're being watched." Draco sarcastically thought to himself.
"Take it as you wish. Personally I would take it as more of a warning." Lucius replied and slapping Draco's back in a jolly manner. He was cackling like a maniac.
"I reckon I should." Draco spat back at Lucius. He did not find the matter to be funny.
"You be a good boy, do you hear me?" Lucius said, poking fun at Draco. All Draco could do was nod his head in agreement to this statement as he watched Lucius' body disappear.
Draco walked back to the castle. He was disgusted with himself. He let Lucius manipulate him and then make fun a fool of him. As he thought about what he had just agreed to do to Hermione he felt his heart plummet into the depths of him. It was somewhere far and it would take a while to recover.
He tried to think about the good to come out of this. He would defy his father again and run away with Hermione. It was bound to happen, they were meant to be together. Draco's mind clouded over with these optimistic thoughts but blocked out the little voice telling him the realistic part of it.
Draco entered the head boy and girl dormitories and slipped into bed next to Hermione. She was fast asleep and comfortably wrapped in her quilt. Draco undressed and observed her serene face from across the room. She looked so peaceful, like there was nothing that could bring any hurt or harm to her. Then he thought about what he would have to do.
Draco leaned in to kiss her forehead and then the tip of her nose. Knowing that she probably could not hear him, he whispered in her ears "Only for you, Hermione." And slipped into bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her torso for what would probably be their last night together.
Tomorrow would be completely different because he would have to be on his best behavior, just like Lucius wanted.
A/N: the first section where Hermione dies in not exactly true. It's a continuation to her dream before.
