Disclaimer: Anything you recognise, I don't own.
Summary: Draco reminisces about the war and the loss of his beloved. Song fic to Blink 182's 'Down'.
Title: Down
By beige italics
oooo
Loud thumps from the room next door awoke me this morning. On instinct, I jumped out of bed, clad in only my black silk boxers and raced down the hall. When I reached Scarlet's room, I found her standing on her feet, with her head touching the floor, arms next to her ears holding her up, looking at me through her legs.
"Scarlet, what are you doing baby?" I asked. She stood up and smiled at me.
"I'm trying to do a forward roll daddy!" She looked at me as if it were the most exciting thing in the world.
I frowned at her, wondering why on earth anyone would want to roll over their head and land on their bum, getting dizzy in the process.
However, since I was already awake, I thought I might as well stay up and so I sat down on one of the small stools situated at the little table located in the corner of her room.
As I watched her try her trick over and over again, I was reminded of her mother, with her gorgeous, bushy brown hair, honey coloured eyes, and that beautiful smile. When she smiled, the whole room would warm up and it was as if it were a contagious disease that passed to everyone and anyone who was around her. She was the only one who could get me to crack. Until Hermione came into my life, I was like a stone wall, showing no emotion, no feelings and certainly no love towards anyone. She captured my heart though, only to break it on that dreaded night six years ago.
"Hermione! HERMIONE!" I yelled her name over and over with no answer.
I was running through the battle fields, no longer the beautiful grounds of Hogwarts but instead just a muddy field, littered with bodies. Everywhere I looked there were bodies.
Hermione and I had gotten separated right at the beginning of the battle, when the Death Eaters found out that I had betrayed them and started chasing me.
I was Voldemorts favourite Death Eater. Son of Lucius Malfoy, I didn't have to do anything to get onto the Dark Lord's good side. Because of this, I was able to hand over valuable information to the Light side about Voldemort's plans and Voldemort never found out. You can imagine how pissed off he was when he saw me at the battle, standing in the front line alongside Dumbledore and Potter.
It was pouring with rain and I was drenched; soaked to the skin and freezing cold. But I kept searching, becoming more panicked as I went on.
The battlefield was deadly quiet, except for the occasional sob heard from one of the survivors finding a beloved.
The drops of rain they fall all over
This awkward silence makes me crazy
Finally, I heard a slight whimper from over on my right. I turned towards the sound and there, lying on the ground was my angel, my Hermione still looking beautiful. She always seemed to have some sort of glow around her and she did even as she lay in the mud. I hoped she wasn't dead yet.
The glow inside burns light upon her
I'll try to kiss you if you let me
(this can't be the end)
"Hermione!" I whispered. She looked up at me weakly and I could see the fear in her eyes.
"Draco." She finally said, with all the strength she could muster. "I'm sorry." She croaked out. My eyes widened.
"No, Mia, why are you sorry? Don't be sorry baby. There's nothing to be sorry about." I said hurriedly as I clasped her hands in mine. She looked as if she would leave me any second now.
"I'm sorry Draco…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for failing you, I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you. I'm sorry for leaving you now."
"No, Hermione, you've never caused me any pain and you've never failed me and you never will. Whenever I'm around you I'm happy. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I've always loved you. Do you hear that? I love you; I love you more than anything in this whole wide world and I am never going to stop loving you." She smiled as best as she could. Her eyes were drifting open and closed. I knew she would be leaving me soon and a tear slid down my frozen cheek, one of many more to come.
"I...I love you too Draco. Take care of Scarlet...for me. I love you always, Draco...my hero..." And she was done. Her eyes fluttered closed and I felt her fingers go limp in my hand. It was then that I broke down. Yes, for the first time in my life, I, Draco Malfoy, broke down in tears.
Tidal waves they rip right through me
Tears from eyes worn cold and sad
Pick me up now, I need you so bad
Down down down down
Down down down down
Down down down down
Down down down down
It gets me so
Down down down down
Down down down down
Down down down down
Down down down down
It gets me so…
I sighed. I would remember that day for the rest of my life. That was the day the person who I loved the most, the first person who I had ever loved, was taken from me.
Luckily, when Voldemort was deafeated by Potter, all the Death Eaters who weren't killed in the battle (which weren't many) fled and went into hiding. The wizarding world didn't expect to be hearing anything from them soon although there were a few Aurors who had now dedicated their lives to tracking down and killing those remaining Death Eaters.
I was brought back to the present by a small hand waving back and forth in front of my face. My six year old was standing in front of me wanting my attention.
"Daddy…you're not paying attention again…" she was looking curiously at me.
"I'm sorry honey. What did you say?" I tried to look interested.
She rolled her eyes adorably and said "I asked if you wanted to play go-fish with me!" I stared at her blankly. "You know, the card game?" She looked at me hopefully. But I had another idea.
"How about you get dressed and I'll meet you in my room in five minutes to brush your hair?" I asked her. She shrugged.
"Ok."
I left the room and wandered down the hallway back into my room to pull on some jeans and a T-shirt, along with a warm jacket.
Scarlet came into my room a few minutes later with her hairbrush and I brushed her hair. I always insisted on brushing her hair because it was so much like her mother's and I would be reminded of her everytime I did.
Soon, we were in the car and driving off toward the David Harvey cemetery, which was the closest one to our home.
Hermione had introduced me to many muggle inventions, including televisions and cars and needless to say, I very much enjoyed them sometimes, although I never would have admitted it, so we lived in a muggle neighbourhood and Scarlet went to a muggle school and did a lot of muggle things such as go to the cinemas.
As we stepped out of the car, I took Scarlet's hand and we walked together to where Hermione had been buried alongside other muggles. Her headstone was a simple one, because Hermione would not have wanted a fancy, big sort of headstone which stood out among the others. I had chosen the inscription, which read:
Hermione Granger
1980 – 1999
"Loved by all who came into her presence; her smile would light up a room. The most beautiful person who ever came into this world throughout all aspects; mind, body and soul. The best student seen in a long time, she died fighting bravely until the very end and she will never be forgotten."
I started to tear up upon reading these words again and I think that Scarlet realised this. I looked at her and I found that she was looking right at the headstone, looking like she was reading it. I knew that Scarlet could not read yet however, and upon closer inspection, I found that she had tears in her eyes.
Your vows of silence fall all over
The look in your eyes makes me crazy
I feel the darkness break upon her
Scarlet only knew her mother for a little over a year, yet sometimes she recalled things about their time spent together that I didn't. This was one of those moments where she remembered. And she preferred not to be bothered during that period.
We stood there for a long time, just the two of us, staring silently at the headstone that lay in front of us, saying nothing. I didn't want to break down in front of my daughter but when I felt it coming, I knew I wouldn't be able to help myself.
Tidal waves they rip right through me
Tears from eyes worn cold and sad
Pick me up now, I need you so bad
Down down down down
Down down down down
Down down down down
Down down down down
It gets me so
Down down down down
Down down down down
Down down down down
Down down down down
It gets me so…
Before, I had thought that I would never love another being as much as I love Hermione but then, here is Scarlet, holding my hand, standing beside me everywhere I go. That is when I realise that here, right in front of me, has been my precious Hermione all along, holding me close and comforting me when I am down, except her name is Scarlet Malfoy and she is my daughter.
A/N: Okay...well, review and let me know what you thought of that. To be truthful, I thought the ending was a load of crap but I seriously could not think of anything else to write and it took me twenty minutes just to write that last tiny paragraph sigh If you have any ideas about how I could change this and post a different ending, please tell me and I will. This is just a one-shot, but I'm thinking of having this as one of a collection of song fics with D/Hr ships. I'm not sure. Once again, please review and tell me what you think. And if it's bad, don't just say that it's bad, tell me why you think it's bad and how I can make it 'not bad'. Oh yes, and if anybody has anything to say about my grammer especially, please point it out to me because I'm a big sticker for good grammer (and spelling as well).