A/N: Hey everyone. I know you are all in disbelief that Hermione died a month earlier than planned, but everything happens for a reason. So yes, she really is dead. Not a dream or anything like that. She is dead. So I hope none of you are mad at me for her death. Anyway thankyou all for the reviews… onto the story.

DISCLAIMER: I own the plot, nothing more.

Chapter Fourteen: Saying Goodbye

"Draco?" came a soft voice from the otherside of the wooden door, "Draco… Dumbledore… he wants to see you, at the hospital wing."

Draco didn't say anything or move. He'd been sitting in the empty room for almost three hours. Just sitting there… not crying, not making any noise. He felt cold, alone, lost… incomplete. He opened his eyes and slowly stood up. Slowly he walked to the door and unlocked it than pulling it open to reveal Pansy. She didn't say or do anything, though when Draco looked at her face he could see she'd been crying.

Without a word to her Draco walked past her, keeping his face focused on the ground. He didn't want to look at any of the books, tables, chair… anything! It all reminded him too much of Hermione… Hermione, how that name still made his heart race and his eyes water. How can one feel so much pain, yet so much love all at once?

His pace quickened as he pushed the library door open and walked into the hustle and bustle of the corridors, yet everyone was silent. They had all heard of Hermione's passing by now. Many Gryffindor's were in tears; some Ravenclaw's were as well. The Slytherin's were silent as well. None dared make a snide comment about it, at least not while Draco was walking past.

He stopped outside the Hospital Wing doors and stared up at them biting his lower lip…

"Draco, do you want to go to the dance with me?" she replied out of the blue, catching Draco off guard, "The dance is in just two weeks… and well… you know."

Draco smiled, "I'd love to go with you. There's no one else I'd rather go with."

With a deep breath he pushed the doors open and walked in to see Potter and the other's sitting on chairs in silence. Draco walked towards them in silence, until Dumbledore exited from the back room no twinkle in his eyes. Draco looked at Dumbledore expectantly as he walked towards him and stopped in front of him.

"Mr Malfoy, I'm glad you came," spoke the Head Master, "I know it must be hard to be here, but I believe this belongs to you."

Draco looked at the folded parchment in Dumbledore's hand, the letter from his father… the letter Hermione read seconds before she… before she…

"I don't want it," spoke Draco quietly looking away from it, "It killed her."

"Very well. When you wish to have it I will return it to you."

"Well I won't be coming for it at all, so you may as well burn it."

"Albus," came McGonagall's voice as she entered the Hospital Wing looking distressed, "I have just returned from the Granger's. They will be here in five hours. They are coming on the school train."

Draco swallowed a lump in his throat before asking, "H-how are they?"

"Naturally devastated. They asked the same about you."

Draco nodded. He didn't know what to do, how to act, anything. His mind was blank, his heart aching… everything was too confusing.

"C-can… can I please see her?" asked Draco quietly.

"I'm sorry Mr Malfoy, but that is not possible until everything is organised. I suggest you return to your dormitory for now," replied Dumbledore sadly before looking at the other's, "All of you, please go to your house tower and try to get some sleep. Lessons are cancelled until further notice."

!D!

He didn't sleep at all that night. If he did, he certainly didn't notice. His mind just wouldn't shut down. Over and over he replayed the scene of when she died… it just wouldn't stop. Whenever it started tears would fall down his already tear stained cheeks. No one bothered him or made any noise the next morning when heading to the Great Hall for breakfast, until their was a knock on the door.

Draco sat up and walked to the door and opened it, revealing Blaise. He stepped back letting his best friend in, before shutting the door behind him.

"What do you want?" mumbled Draco running his hand through his hair.

"I cam to see how your going," replied Blaise sitting on his bed.

"Well how do you think I'm coping?" snapped Draco, "My girlfriend just DIED, in my arms! She wasn't meant to die then was she? No she had a month to go but she fucking died! SO yeah, I'm coping just bloody brilliant!"

Draco stopped yelling breathing hard as his eyes fell on a picture beside his bed. There she was… Christmas Day, hugging him, smiling happily as if nothing was wrong… as though she weren't dying. Blaise followed his friend's eyes to the picture. He quickly looked back at Draco to see him sliding down the wall holding his knees to his body, his shoulder's shuddering. Blaise stood up and placed an envelope beside him before leaving quietly.

Draco looked beside him at the white envelope and picked it up. Written across the front in familiar cursive letters was his name. He turned the envelope over and pulled it open, pulling out folded muggle writing paper.

Draco,

As I am writing this you are having a shower. And I know it seems odd, me writing to you when you are just meters away in another room. But obviously when you get this I'm not their. I'm in the next world looking down on you, wishing I could hold you and tell you everything will be okay. But I can't and just thinking about it is breaking my heart.

Sometimes I wish we never got to know each other, that you were still being your Slytherin self and me reading books, trying to absorb every bit of information their is to learn. But you can't fight fate. Everything happens for a reason, whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. And I know you are thing that what happened is a bad thing, but I am begging you to please see it as a good thing. DEATH IS NOT THES END, Draco!

I know you will be feeling the worst pain in your life as you read this, and I know you are imagining my voice reading it to you. But I need you to get past the pain. I need to watch you move on, find other love and you will! As much as you a saying you won't, I am telling you that you will. Some lucky girl will blow you away, you will fall in love again, have children, watch them grow up into wonderful adults and have children of their own. You will grow old and eventually die yourself.

If there is one thing I can promise you it is this. Our love will be everlasting love. In your heart it will live on, with memories we made while we could be together. I also promise you that I will wait for you. Remember: I always will be with you.

Love forever,

Hermione.

Tears fell down his cheeks as he held onto the letter, clutching it to his chest tightly praying that the letter would become Hermione herself and that she will tell him its all a big joke. But it didn't happen… instead he stood up and left his dorm.

!D!

"Mr Malfoy," said Dumbledore, "Mr and Mrs Granger are here."

Draco didn't move. What was he supposed to do? How was he meant to act around them, say to them? Dumbledore stepped aside to show Hermione's parents sitting in seats in front of Dumbledore's desk talking to a woman dressed in black.

It was Mr Granger who turned around first. His eyes were red rimmed from crying. He placed a hand on his wife's shoulder to tell her to tell her Draco was there. Mrs Granger stood up and ran to Draco pulling him into a tight hug, both started crying.

"It's going to be okay," sobbed Mrs Granger, "It may seem hard now, but it will get better."

Draco just nodded puling away, "I wish I could bring her back… You know… t-then no one would be in pain."

"Can I tell you something?" asked Mrs Granger taking hold of Draco's arm and leading him to a two-seater lounge in the office.

Draco merely nodded.

"I know… she was my daughter… my baby girl. When the Doctor told us she had cancer, and we found out from magical and non-magic doctors that they couldn't cure her, my heart broke. Here was my baby girl… dying right before my very eyes. It killed me knowing that I couldn't put a band aide on it to make it better. No parent should ever have to bury their children. It is wrong. But I see it as her being in peace now. She's no longer in any pain… even though we are hurting we will always remember her."

Draco sat in silence. He felt so selfish, just worrying about his pain and not the fact that Hermione was in peace, no longer in pain herself.

"Draco, "spoke up Mr Granger, "We thought you should know… Hermione's funeral will be tomorrow. She requested to be buried by the oak tree beside the lake."

Draco nodded and walked out, not wanting to be near her parents anymore.

!D!

He looked down at her pretty face, so pale, so lifeless. His heart was pounding as he reached out slowly and touched her pale face. Her skin was cold, not at all warm to touch like he did before… before… he couldn't take it anymore! He had to get out of there away from her lifeless body! Before anyone could stop him, Draco ran from the Great Hall, away from the castle. He ran towards the lake, before collapsing to the ground on his knees, unable to run anymore, just crying out all his pain and anger!

Why did she have to come into his life and make him fell, make him change, make him fall in love? The memories of from the beginning of the school year right through to this every moment swirled through his mind as it played it over in his head, from hating her to falling in love, finding out she was dying… to her… dying… till right now when his life started falling apart. She held it together! She was the glue to his life! She was the one who kept him going and now that she was gone he had no reason to live.

"WHY?" screamed Draco looking at the grey cloudy sky, "WHY DID YOU TAKE HER? WHY NOT SOMEONE ELSE? WHAT DID SHE DO TO MAKE YOU TAK HER FROM ME! I NEED HER MORE THEN YOU! I LOVE HER MORE THAN YOU! Why… why?"

Draco started pounding angrily at the ground until someone wrapped their arms around him holding him to their body, not letting go while he cried all his emotions out. The person wouldn't let go, they just held onto him tightly.

Finally Draco clam down to uneven breaths, but no longer crying. He pulled from them to meet his fathers face. Again the emotion built up in him as he looked at his father helplessly, not caring why he wasn't in Azkaban, but grateful that someone who understood was their.

"She's gone… she's left me… I didn't get to really say goodbye," whispered Draco as his father hugged him again.

It right then when Draco finally connected with his father creating a father son bond that had been missing for so long.

"Why are you here?" asked Draco after a few minutes when they were sitting beside each other quietly.

"Dumbledore sent the Ministry a letter. They let me out," replied Lucius.

"But your with Voldemort… won't he know?"

"I left… Dumbledore read the letter I sent you… he told me joining Voldemort never helped me deal with my loss… that you needed me more so now then ever before…I want to help you, Draco… I can help you say goodbye to Hermione."

!D!

Draco looked at the veil; whispers swam around him as he looked back at his father. Lucius had pulled many strings to help his son. It does help though to have a cousin who works in the Department of Mystery's. Though his cousin had to sneak them in at dawn, Dumbledore who knew had allowed it to happen knowing that Draco will only be able to let go if he can see Hermione alive one last time and say goodbye forever.

"H-how long do I have?" he asked his father's cousin, Lukas.

"An hour the most," replied Lukas handing Draco a gold rope, "Tie this around your waist tightly. This will help you find your way out when you leave. We will hold onto this end."

Draco nodded his heart pounding as he stepped into the veil. Suddenly the whistling of wind swirled around him, swallowing him into darkness. He closed his eyes as everything spun around him at a speed faster then the Firebolt could fly. He felt it slow around him as he opened his eyes to be welcomed into a world with floating eerie blue clouds. There was no ground below him and no sky above him… it was stuck between two worlds. Draco stepped forward and looked around… then he saw her.

She was smiling at him, in tears. He brown hair was curled and pulled back by a golden clip. She was dressed in a long white dress with long sleeves.

Draco ran to her engulfing her into a hug, spinning her around, fighting back tears of joy and sadness.

"I love you so much," whispered Draco, "I don't want to let you go."

"I love you too Draco," replied Hermione pulling away from him, "But you have too… you can't not move on. Remember what Dumbledore said at the New Year's Eve Feast? That light is waiting for you to go to it."

"I can't! Not without you! You were my reason for living, you were the glue that kept my life together!"

"You can live Draco… you have to let me go! Just… just remember that our love will live on forever. But you have so much to accomplish, you will fall in love again… you will marry that girl, have children with her, watch them grow up… everything!"

"But I want that with you! Not some other girl. You own my heart Hermione!"

Hermione had tears falling down her cheeks as she took hold of Draco's hand, "You have mine too… but you have to give your heart to someone else… even if I own a certain part… you have to love again Draco… you saw what happened to your father… he married another women he didn't love. Don't let that happen to you Draco."

Draco fell too his knees in tears, "You are an angel… because of you, you brought me and my father back together… see what you can do? How can he take you away just like that? Why not someone else?"

Hermione knelt down in front of Draco, "I don't know. But… but I have to go… I could only stay a while."

"No! I can't say goodbye yet!"

"Draco, listen to me. I love you and always will and when your time comes I will be waiting for you. But… but until then you have to move on. Don't live in anger at everyone."

Hermione stood up, as did Draco.

"I love you," whispered Draco hugging her, "And I'll never forget you no matter what. You are my greatest love, my soul mate."

Hermione smiled at him before giving him one last kiss before stepping back, holding onto his hand before swirling into a white light and disappearing with a blink of the eye.

Again the whipping wind whirled around Draco as he closed his eyes, opening them to see he was back in front of the veil. He turned to his father and smiled a little, "I'll be fine… I'll be fine."