Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot in this fan fiction.
A/N: I know I should be working on my other fanfictions, but I couldn't resist writing this small one-shot. It's a bit hurried, short, and over-all lacking the effect I was really going for, but it was one of those "inspired-in-a-brief-moment" things, and I felt the urge to actually write a random piece of fanfiction and complete it. As always, reviews are highly appreciated, and please, if you haven't already, go to my profile and peruse my other works on this site! Be nice and review my other fan fictions, too, won't you, lovely readers?
By My Side
The crumpled form of a brunette girl, next to the still figures of an older man and woman, sobbed quietly into her hands. Around them were the smoking ruins of what was once a beautiful house. Flames flickered eerily off to the side, oily black smoke curling upwards to dark sky, but the girl had eyes only for the two fallenadults by her side.
A sickening neon glow permeated everything in the area. Above the destruction, the image of a skull floated, a snake slithering through it. A disturbing green light pulsed from it, the skull seeming to mock the girl's tears.
"Mum…Dad," The girl moaned, feeling a hand fold around her heart painfully. "Don't leave me, please, get up. Get up. Get up! Don't leave me!" Pleading escalated into hysterical begging, fresh tears coursing down the cheeks of the girl when the bodies didn't move.
"Hermione! Oh, thank god, Hermione," Two young men sprinted towards her, leaping deftly over the twisted, burning remains of the house. The taller one's red hair clashed terribly with the blue robes of an Auror, and the other's dark, messy hair blended well with the night.
The brunette witch finally raised her eyes to look from the bodies before her, new sobs wracking her body at the sight of her two best friends coming to kneel by her. Casting her eyes backdown to her parents, she vainly shook her father's shoulders, ignoring the tears blurring her vision.
"Get up! Please," she ended with a heartbroken moan.
Two pairs of hands firmly grasped hers, pulling her up and away from the dead bodies staring lifelessly at the night's sky.
"Hermione, look at me," Harry nudged her face towards his, green eyes brimming with resigned sorrow. Her eyes found his, and a trace of sanity glimmered in their watery brown depths. "Hermione, there's nothing you can do." Harry exchanged a pained glance with the redhead, Ron. "Your parents are dead, Hermione," He said quietly. Something wrenched in his gut, and he felt icy tendrils of guilt curl in his stomach as the remaining slivers of sanity in the girl's eyes drowned in the fresh wave of loss and despair that overwhelmed the witch.
Harry stared helplessly over Hermione's shoulder at Ron, catching Hermione in his arms when her trembling form buckled, wails piercing the air.
A crack sounded nearby, and the swirling blue robes identified the newcomer as another Auror. Blonde hair was whipped back as the man stared upwards at the gruesome trademark of Voldemort, and he swore viciously.
Ron, too, cursed. "What the hell is he doing here?"
Harry looked concerned and angry. "Tell him to get his arse back to headquarters before she spots him and decides to throttle him."
Ron shook his head when the blonde man strode towards them, furiously signalling for him to move away. The man's eyes narrowed, and he purposefully ignored Ron's blatant warning. Moments later, despite Harry's best efforts, the witch spotted the telltale glimmer of platinum blonde hair, eerily reminiscent of Lucius Malfoy's hair.
The change in her was astounding. With a sound resembling that of a war-cry, Hermione tore herself the comfort of her friend's arms, lunging at the newcomer with hands curled into talons.
"You! I hate you! It's all your fault! My parents are dead because of you!" She screamed, beyond sorrow as she welcomed the fury, letting it block her memory of the chilling, horrible details. "I'm going to kill you, Malfoy!"
Draco Malfoy paused, a terrible look of grim despair and self-loathing spreading over his features. A grim resolve finally settled upon his face as the witch raised her wand towards him. He carelessly let his drop fromlong, elegantfingers to clatter upon the ground.
"I know it's my fault," His voice drifted to her, deadly quiet and filled with a pain so intense, it made the hysterical girl pause. "And I'm sorry, Hermione." He raised his head, a look of utter defeat etched in his face. "So do what you will. I deserve it," He whispered at the end, full of bitter resentment over his own actions.
Hermione panted, her arm shaking as she levelled her wand at the blonde man. Lucius, Draco – it didn't matter. They were evil. They killed her parents. She glared at the man before her, seeing his long blonde hair whip up in the cool breeze. "Do you know what it's like to lose a parent?" She whispered to him, icy rage roaring in her veins.
He looked up at her, his gaze burning her with its intensity. "I do," His next words were hollow, lacking emotion. "My father is dead." Silver eyes, once full of life, were now empty pools of grey. "I killed him."
The image of Lucius Malfoy wavered before Hermione, and she blinked, seeing, for the first time, the defeated figure of a younger Draco Malfoy. The wand rolled from her suddenly lifeless fingers as sanity bloomed in her eyes. "Draco, I – Lucius...he's dead?"
"I killed him," Draco repeated numbly. "He went too far."
Hermione stumbled, gasping for breath, but shoved aside the concerned embraces of Harry and Ron.
She moved to Draco's side. "Draco..." Hesitantly, her hand shaking, she raised her fingers to Malfoy's face, letting them run down his face in a gentle caress.
He snapped out of his lifeless state, his eyes widening in disbelief at the sight of Hermione by his side, her wand discarded.
"How can you forgive me?" he murmured brokenly, agonised eyes finding her own. "I couldn't stop him in time to save them."
"It's not your fault," She said firmly, shuddering as she pushed aside her own waves of sorrow. "I don't blame you, Draco. Lucius did this, and he's gone now."
A groan shuddered through his lean frame as he pulled her against him, burying his face in her soft hair. "I killed my own father. But he deserved it."
Hermione wrapped her own arms around him, silent. She lifted her face to his, their tears mingling as they shared a kiss. Their sorrow flowed between them, and they held each other tightly, never letting go.
o.:.x.:.o
When the sun rose at dawn, the glint of the Malfoy wedding band on Hermione's slim finger was enough for them to smile for the first time in days, hope rekindling in them.
"It's going to be alright, love."