Brightness of a Beloved Eye
Chapter 13: Insanity and Realization

…

Draco apparated to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and headed straight for Hermione's room. He found her sitting on the bed, waiting for him with a smile. He smiled back and reached out to hold her. But his hands went through her and she frowned.

"You can't touch me Draco."

"But, why?"

"Because that's one of the rules, silly."

She giggled at him and he smiled back.

"It's my turn to run and you're chasing."

She laughed and sprang up from the bed, running around the bedroom with Draco chasing her.

…

Harry, Luna and Ron could hear Draco talking upstairs in Hermione's room. He seemed to be talking to someone, but everyone knew for a fact that no one was in there.

"Harry, I think, it's time for us to go check on Draco."

Luna suggested this idea about five days after Hermione's funeral. Harry and Ron nodded in agreement and the three made their way up the stairs, where they could hear Draco's talking getting louder and louder. They could nearly make out what he was saying now.

"You look beautiful, as always."

Draco laughed suddenly.

"Of course not, I love you, not some silly little twat."

"No, that's not mean. It's true, she is one."

"See, I knew you'd see it my way."

Harry, Luna, and Ron looked at each other in questioning.

"Could it be that… she's a ghost?"

Ron asked the other two in a whisper. Harry shrugged and Luna shook her head sadly.

"She can't be, she has no unfinished business. She told Draco everything she wanted to say that… day."

Luna spoke softly and true. She knocked on the door to Hermione's room and inside, it went silent instantly.

"Draco, it's Luna, Harry and Ron. May we come in?"

Luna had the perfect motherly voice that could coax anyone into doing whatever she wanted. The three of them could hear Draco speaking in soft mutters and then the door opened to reveal Draco.

He was even paler than normal and his already delicate looking face looked frightfully thin and haggard. His clothes hung off his frame and his hair was limp and greasy looking, hanging off his head.

"I asked Hermione and she'salright if you came in…"

Draco stated in a small voice.

"But only for a few minutes!"

The three nodded and entered the room. The room looked immaculate and unmoved from five days hence. Luna looked around for any sign of a ghost or a wisp anything, but she found nothing. It was then that they knew Draco was hallucinating.

"Draco, where's Hermione?"

Luna asked him softly after sitting him down on the bed.

"Can't you see her? She's right there."

Draco smiled at an empty chair that was Hermione's favorite for curling up on and reading. Draco's expression was dreamy and his eyes reflected a faraway look.

Harry and Ron looked at Luna in alarm.

"What are you talking about Malfoy? No one's there. Hermione's not there. She's not."

Ron started speaking, but he became so furious that he stalked out of the room, not bothering to close the door. Harry stared after him and began talking to Draco as well.

"Draco, you need to get a grip on yourself. Look at what you're becoming. It's disgusting. Would you want Hermione to see you like that?"

Draco looked at Harry when he mentioned Hermione seeing him.

"But, Potter, she's right there. She's already seeing me."

Harry looked alarmed at Draco's rapidly declining state of sanity and looked to Luna. Surely she could do something to rectify this.

"Draco, you might not believe me, but Hermione's gone. You're a smart man, Hermione said so. Look at all the facts that she's trying to give you. Surely, you can decipher what she's trying to tell you."

Draco looked at Luna sadly and his eyes seemed to glaze over as he began to think back to the last five days.

He was forever going through her body. She floated in the air and occasionally through walls and furniture. He'd call for her but she wouldn't come upstairs and then suddenly she was in the bath. She never did more than what happened that night before the final battle. And when she did do something different, she never seemed like the Hermione Draco knew, always playful and always teasing, never serious for one moment.

"Sh-she's gone?…"

Draco whispered in uncertainty and Luna nodded slowly. Draco's entire being seemed to change then. He sagged, the life seemingly draining out of his body and his face seemed to droop into a permanent frown. And then, he began to cry softly, silent tears of anguish streaming down his face.

Luna pulled him to her and held him, whispering comforting words to him and petting his hair. She caught Harry's eye and he nodded, understanding her silent message. He went downstairs to report Draco's physical and mental state to the rest of the Order.

Draco had let the reality sink in and now, the grieving began. At least, for him.

…

…

Authoress's Notes:
Well, this is the second to last chapter. The next one is the final one. I can't believe it, I'm already at the final chapter.

Ok, I've been having some troubles with writing the last chapter, but hopefully, I'll be done by either next week or the week after. But, no worries, I assure you, it WILL be done. Just... I don't know when yet. So... wait patiently... and it will come. Eventually.

Well, this chapter was pretty straightforward. Draco began having hallucinations of Hermione and he became temporarily insane. Well, what would happen to us all if we lost someone near and dear to us. And this is the chapter that I had in mind for the Frankenstein passage. Mostly this chapter. It's been really great coming up with everything til now though. And the next chapter, when I end it all, is going to be great because I'll have finished this story in such a short time.

As for the next chapter content… well, I hope it will be great.

…

Kristina Chang