"No-o-o-o!" Everything faded to black.
Hermione couldn't believe this was happening. Not to her anyway. Why had she let her guard down? She had been utterly stupid. They had come from everywhere. She had been talking to Harry when the Death Eaters had descended upon them all. She had been trapped by McNabb and Goyle when she saw that Draco had been caught and was kneeling in execution style on the ground in front of Lucius. She knew what was about to happen and she would not let the man that she loved die at the hands of that evil git. Loved? Where had that come from? She would have to deal with that realization later. She needed to get to Draco and fast!
"Luna, Ginny!" she screamed, "I need help!"
Luna and Ginny rounded the corner with wands raised.
"Expelliarmus" they both shouted and the Death Eaters were removed of their wands.
"Thanks," she called over her shoulder as she ran to help Draco.
The closer she got the more she could hear Lucius screaming about how Draco was a disappointment to him and Voldemort.
"How could you do this to me in front of the Dark Lord? I did not think I had raised a gutless little snit. I also have been told that you are in love with that filthy little mudblood. You sicken me. This is not easy for me and I would have had things turn out differently, but you left me no choice." Lucius sneered.
"It is you who sickens me, Father. I realized a long time ago, Lucius that I did not want to be like you. So, I went to Dumbledore and told him every thing that I knew. And as far as Hermione is considered, yes I love her and you would do well to keep her name from your lips. It does not need to be dirtied by the likes of you," Draco spat defiantly.
"Good bye Draco, my son." Lucius's voice trembled as he said those last words and began to lift his wand to finish the chore that Voldemort had set aside for him.
"Ava…." Lucius started.
"No-o-o-o!" Hermione yelled as she jumped in front of Draco and took the blast that was intended for him.
She was dead. What in Merlin's name had she been thinking! She should have just used expelliarmus, but n—o, she had to go and jump in front of the darn thing. How incredibly stupid, especially after she had heard Lucius say that Draco had loved her and admitted it.
Draco loved her. The same Draco, who had called her mudblood many times over and found any way possible to make her and her friends life a living hell.
The truth that she loved him too was more than she could bear. It was then that she realized she would never again get to see those silver-blue eyes looking at her longingly or the flash of a smile as he tried to hide it from her with a smirk. All those little things made sense now. She had taken them to mean his disdain for her, but he was covering so his friends wouldn't know the only real dirty little secret that Draco had. He loved Hermione Granger.
They would have ridden him to no end she thought, but now they need never know. She wondered what it would have been like to be held in his tight embrace and have him whispering words of love for only her to hear. She would never get to taste his lips or feel the sweet surrender when she would have finally given herself to him. She had taken everything she could have had and thrown it away because she didn't think. Now Draco would love and marry someone else. I am glad I won't be there to see it.
"Granger" she heard a whisper.
"Who or what is whispering my name" she thought.
"Granger" this time it was a yell.
As if the building that she had been standing by had fallen on her, an immense pain filled her head. It seemed the feeling was coming back into her body and she could now smell the acrid stench of burned flesh and she could feel someone holding her tight and whispering her name over and over. It also seemed to be raining. As she opened her eyes, there was Draco. He was the one holding her and wasn't letting anyone get near. She could hear him saying something over and over. As her head began to clear she could make out what he was saying.
"Oh lord Granger; please don't leave me in this place. I would gladly take your place instead of being left here alone. Why did you have to do this to us?" he continued to cry.
"Malfoy, you need to let us have her body. We need to go, before any more come along." Harry pleaded.
"Thanks for the support, but I think I can manage for myself Harry." Hermione grunted.
Draco's grip relaxed long enough to look into her face to make sure he wasn't dreaming and then pulled her even tighter.
Hermione laughed, "Draco dear, they might not have finished me off, but if you don't let me go I may suffocate."
"Sorry I didn't real….Did you just call me dear?" he questioned.
"We'll talk about it later, right now we need to get out of here and back to the village. Can you give me a hand up please?" She asked, holding her hand out to Draco. He helped ease her up from off the ground.
On the way back to the village the others noticed that Hermione and Draco weren't insulting each other as much and gave them questioning looks. Once they arrived at the village they met up with Fred and George, who eyed Malfoy suspiciously.
"What's that git doing here?" Fred said.
"We ran across him right before his execution and Hermione thought she'd save his sorry hide," pouted Ron. Ginny and Luna covered their knowing grins.
"We've already secured the village might as well head on to the Burrow," George said.
"Come on Malfoy we'll find you a place to sleep and get you some food. Then we want some answer's," stated Harry.
Hermione also had a few questions that she wanted answered, but for now there was no time.