"In My Life"
Disclaimer: I own only the plot, not the characters, which were created by J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 14
Hermione went as fast as she could towards the first door on the left side of the ballroom without attracting too much attention. Draco was on the opposite side of the room, working his way towards another door. Hermione reached the one she was headed for and, not to great surprise, found it magically sealed. Hermione looked around before quickly pulling out her wand and tapping it to the lock, whispering, "Abrando." She heard the lock click back in place and pocketed her wand, satisfied. Across the room, Draco turned away from another door and gave her a slight nod; he had been successful too.
Hermione looked around the walls of the room, searching for another door to open. She saw a large wooden one to her left and hurried towards it, occasionally glancing up at Lucius to make sure he had not seen her. She reached the second door, but it was becoming very clear that Lucius's speech was nearly over; he was bringing his comments together into a conclusion at an alarming rate. Hermione unsealed the door and was halfway to the next one when everyone around her started applauding.
Hermione jerked her head to where Lucius had been speaking and found, to her horror, that he was finished giving his talk and was reaching into his pocket for something that looked suspiciously like his wand. Hermione sped up and was still looking at Lucius when she reached the next door. "Abrando," she whispered yet again, hearing the bolt click back into place, the magical bond broken. There were at least three more doors to be opened, but there was no time now; Lucius's smile had disappeared and he was pulling his wand into plain view.
"And now guests, the celebration we've all been waiting for so long…MAY THE DARK LORD TRIUMPH EVERMORE!" Lucius roared suddenly, aiming his wand at a nearby person, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Hermione gasped as the unfortunate muggle fell to the floor, unmistakably dead. The people around her mumbled in confusion for a moment before screaming broke out in the front as they realized the person was dead. Lucius laughed his cruel laugh and bellowed the unforgivable curse at anyone he laid his eyes on. "OVER HERE!" Hermione screamed at her coworkers, wrenching the door open. Only the people close by heard her, as everyone was screaming in panic.
Suddenly, Draco's magically magnified voice filled the enormous space, "EVERYONE OUT THE BACK DOORS! THEY ARE NOT LOCKED! HURRY!" Hermione saw Lucius look at his son in rage before casting yet more killing curses in every direction.
'I have to stop Lucius!' Hermione thought frantically, trying to get a good view of Lucius through the crowd. "STUPIFY!" she cried at the top of her lungs, aiming her wand in Lucius's general direction. The spell missed, and Lucius looked over to find that she had cast it.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" He cried, throwing the curse towards Hermione. Fortunately for her, the spell hit the wall to her right and not her. She heard more curses being cast around the room and figured Carl, William, and Vincent had arrived. To her immense relief, the room was emptying quickly as the guests left the room as quickly as possible through the back doors.
She pushed her way through the crowd into the main part of the room, which was now deserted except for Lucius. 'I've got to distract him,' she thought, casting a stunning hex in his direction once again. Lucius dodged it and turned to look at Hermione.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" screamed Lucius over the shouts of the mass of people. To her utter horror, Hermione's wand flew from her hand and Lucius caught it. He smiled at her menacingly and lifted his wand. "AVADA KE--"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" screamed another voice and Lucius collapsed on the floor, lifeless.
Hermione looked around to see who had cast the spell and saw Draco staring determinedly at his dead father, wand still raised. Draco looked away and wasted no more time. "Accio wand!" Hermione's wand flew into his outstretched hand, and he immediately threw it back to its owner. "I got Carl, you stun Vincent!" yelled Draco, gesturing through the crowd to where Vincent stood casting the killing curse in every direction.
Hermione pushed her way once again through the rapidly thinning crowd until she had a decent view of Vincent. "STUPIFY!" She screamed and Vincent fell, his wand rolling across the cold floor lazily.
There were now less than thirty people in the room, all of them running away from William, who was the last of Lucius small team remaining. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" shouted William, and to Hermione's dismay, it was Mr. Foroy who fell.
"NO!" Hermione screamed, watching the life disappear instantaneously from her director and friend. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she lifted her wand and screamed with all the hate she had been building up for the last two weeks, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" The jet of green light sped from her wand and hit William full-force in the chest. He was dead before he hit the floor.
The last ten people fled from the room and Hermione fell on her knees, sobbing. The dead bodies of more than forty innocent people lay around her. Draco came and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her and trying to sooth her. Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck in a tight embrace but continued to weep. Neither knew how long it had been before they pulled apart, long after Hermione had stopped crying.
The two sat there silently, not speaking because there was nothing important enough to be said. The innocent people around them deserved their mournful silence. It was not right that these people had died in a war they knew nothing about, a war of power blown out of proportion and magic used for the wrong reasons. These people were not here now to celebrate the failing of a horrible deed that would have sent people worldwide into a panic--something the Dark Lord wanted desperately. The celebration was left to the heroes of the day; the two people who had saved so many and risked so much.
But somehow, these heroes didn't feel much like celebrating.
Hermione and Draco left the manor in a daze. Not one person was outside; the only sound that could be heard was the light wind breezing through the surrounding trees. Neither had spoken in a long time, both lost in troubled thoughts.
Draco stared at the ground emotionlessly. Hermione knew he was thinking about his father; only a moment ago he had stood over Lucius's dead body. Draco had stared at his father with a mixture of pity and hate. Hermione thought it must be hard to be forced to kill your own parent, especially one you'd been trying to please your entire life. "You did the right thing, Draco," Hermione said, hoping Draco realized that. "Lucius wouldn't have let either of us survive if he had lived."
Draco nodded solemnly and looked up at the stars in the brightening sky. "He never really cared when it came to me." Draco said almost inaudibly, "My personality, my dreams, my life…he just didn't care. He wanted me to be his clone, to follow him from birth. I tried for a long time, but I couldn't…I just didn't want to; it wasn't me." He absentmindedly played with the ring on his finger, looking at his hand but not really seeing it. When Draco realized what he was doing, he looked at the small silver snake and frowned. He removed the ring from his finger and pocketed it, tired of thinking about anything to do with his father. He glanced over at Hermione and found her looking eastward, where the sun was just barely peeking out from the horizon.
Hermione tore her eyes from the sunrise and turned to Draco. "I'm exhausted," she said, smiling a little. "There's nothing left to do here, Draco. Let's go."
Draco looked back at the manor and nodded slowly. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at a boulder on the ground. "Portus," he said, and the rock glowed blue. "This will take you back to your hotel. I'll disapparate once you're gone and tell the Ministry."
Hermione saw that Draco still hadn't completely recovered from earlier in the evening. She hadn't either, but it seemed as though there was something else bothering Draco that she couldn't figure out. On sudden realization, she spoke, "I don't blame you, Draco." Draco stopped staring at the ground and looked up at her. "And you shouldn't blame yourself. What happened is Lucius's fault. Take comfort in the fact that you stopped him when you did." Draco didn't look entirely convinced, so Hermione gave him a gentle kiss before she stepped towards the port key and put her hand on it. "I'll see you later," she said, and disappeared.
Draco stood alone in the suddenly cold air for a moment before disaparating.
The Ministry lobby was empty, which Draco had expected, as it was only a little after dawn on a Saturday morning. He walked up to the information desk and pressed a small silver button off that was to the right. A cool female voice spoke seemingly from nowhere, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. If no one is available at the desk, please state your name and business now."
"Draco Malfoy; I need to leave a message."
The voice spoke again after a pause, "Please state the department you wish to leave a message for and whether or not it is an emergency."
"The Department of Magical Law Enforcement; it is an emergency."
"The message, please."
"This morning over forty people were found dead at Malfoy Manor in Batonstown. Most of them were muggles, but several wizards were there as well. Contact Draco Malfoy with questions." Draco decided not to leave too much information on the message. If the Ministry needed more information, they knew where he lived.
"Thank you. The Ministry of Magic appreciates your help. Have a nice day."
A quill suddenly leapt up of its own will behind the counter of the desk and started scribbling Draco's message on a piece of parchment. When it finished, the parchment rolled itself up and flew off in the direction of the Law Enforcement offices. Draco watched it disappear and disapparated to his apartment, where he would sit awake, awaiting the questions the Ministry would ask upon receiving the news.
Hermione put her hand gently on the port key and watched Draco disappear in a swirl of color. Almost immediately, she appeared in her hotel room. Every single thing was exactly where she had left it two weeks ago. A thin layer of dust covered the desk where her script lay open to the final scene of In My Life.
Hermione slowly walked over to the desk and sat in the chair beside it. She gently picked up the script and shook the dust from it. She closed it and looked at the cover.
IN MY LIFE
Written and directed by Frank Foroy
Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes as she remembered how kind Mr. Foroy had been to her and how he had died, only a few hours ago, for no reason. Mr. Foroy was so happy the night before; it was the opening night of the first--and last--film he had ever written. He was no doubt eagerly awaiting the reviews for the film that would be published internationally….
Lucius Malfoy had taken that away from him. Hermione felt at that instant that if Draco hadn't killed Lucius, she would have. She could not think of any words horrible enough to describe Lucius Malfoy. 'He didn't deserve to die; he deserved to suffer,' thought Hermione cruelly, though she could think of no punishment terrible enough for him. She had never before felt so much hate for another human being, but Lucius was the kind of person that one either respected immensely or hated with a passion. Hermione knew which category she fell into. It seemed that everything one could associate with the man was evil--Voldemort, greed, prejudice….
But then there was Draco. Lucius's only son, and yet, completely the opposite personality-wise. Hermione smiled mentally as she thought of all the fun times they had had these past months, before Hermione was kidnapped, that is. Hermione remembered doubting him constantly…but in the past twenty-four hours Draco had done much to erase these doubts completely.
Draco had done a great deal for Hermione, and she, in turn, had helped him to face his father. Why did it matter that they were enemies at Hogwarts, when together they had just ruined a terrible plan that would have strengthened the Dark Lord? There had been a bond between them before last night, but today it was the strongest it had ever been.
Hermione realized that of all the people she had loved deeply in the past, there was no one that even compared with Draco, and though she knew she'd never forget any of the people she loved before, in her life…
….she loved Draco more.
The End.
In My Life
There are places I remember, all my life,
Though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better,
Some have gone, and some remain.
All these places have their moments,
With lovers and friends I still can recall,
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life, I've loved them all.
But of all these friends and lovers,
There is no one compares with you.
And these memories lose their meaning,
When I think of love as something new.
Though I know I'll never lose affection,
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life, I love you more.
Though I know I'll never lose affection,
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life, I love you more.
In my life, I love you more.